Waiting on Heaven
by DemonicPiano
Summary: Turns out, that loner living on the edge of town is an angel. Yep, a flaming sword-wielding, head-decapitating angel. After he saves Alfred from a car accident, Alfred is desperate to toss aside his mundane, high-school life to chase the supernatural. Maybe he is desperate for something else, too.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note- SHIT, BOY. I DID IT AGAIN. WHEN WILL THE GOVERNMENT STOP MY SINFUL HAND. I spent a whole year of my life writing a USUK fic! UGH!_

_Anyway, this is a companion piece to another one of my stories, Limerence. You DO NOT have to read that one to understand WTF is going on with this one, and visa versa._

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

"Did you see that commercial? The dude was literally on top of his car when it was doing all those flips and crap. I'm _so_ in love with those CGI effects, and the movie hasn't even come out yet!"

"I wish things like that could happen in real life."

"Ha-ha, totally. We should go and see it when it comes out in theaters, Alfie."

A nearby classmate leaned to Alfred's occupied side with a not-so-quiet hiss, "Hey, Al, what gives? I thought we were going to see it together! Don't leave your bros hanging like that!"

"Come on, you guys," Alfred winked to a couple of girls staring like hawks over their desks. "You know I wouldn't do that. Why don't we all go see it together?"

The teacher was suddenly there, rudely interrupting their obvious conversation with a pissy look, "If you are willing to share your answer with your classmates, Mister Bonnefoy, perhaps you can share it with me?"

Alfred replied with a big grin, "Yeah! It's forty-two!"

Apparently, it was possible for Teach to frown even further. "You may want to take another look at your schedule. This is European History, not Calculus."

"Oh! I mean '42, as in 1942!"

"Really? That must be the year your brain is in because I never even asked a question." Mister Teach rapped on Alfred's desk as he turned away. "Pay attention and stop dragging my good students into your scandals. Flirting can wait until you're out of my class."

The surrounding seniors caterwauled with those "Ooh's" they loved to do when someone was in the bad kind of spotlight. But hey, bad spotlight was still spotlight.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Alfie! Alfie!"

Alfred had just left his last class when a girl from one of his morning periods stopped his eager escape. Sure, school was filled with friends, but his fridge at home was filled with food. Plus, the forecast called for grossness, and he wanted to get home ASAP.

"Hey!" Alfred called out just as cheekily. "What's up?"

The girl stopped right in front of him, twirling her braid over her shoulder and giggling, "I was wondering what you were up to. We should hang out!"

"We should!" Alfred replied too eagerly. His grin fell into a pout. "Wait, no, I have to go to the quick market. Grocery run. You know Mattie is pushing for me to get a job? At _that _place?"

"Oh, that's lame. Can't your brother pick up his own food?" A question Alfred asked himself many times that day, but no, he had to 'hurry' home and 'get ready for work.' The girl sang, "We could use my Dad's popcorn machine again!"

Alfred did love popcorn machines. Then, he thought of his twin glaring at him when his own back was turned, and he knew he wouldn't get that out of his mind. "Mattie's got to work at the bookstore tonight, so it's up to me to, you know, fetch the milk. Maybe later?"

"No," the girl stuck her lower lip out, looking like a kicked puppy. "My parents are coming home early tonight." Someone called her name, and she spun around, gasping excitedly and waving at one of their friends. "Whatever, some other time!"

Like a trash bag tossed into it's bins, or more like recycling, when he was needed again, Alfred waved, keeping it from his face until he turned away for the front doors. He shrugged it off, because hey, sometimes people were busy. He had a mission to focus on: fetching milk from the local quick market. Reward: a happy brother, free from nagging.

To say it was pouring outside was the understatement of the semester. Alfred bemoaned the puddles flooding the front parking lot, remembering Matthew telling him not to forget an umbrella. Guess what. He forgot an umbrella.

"Oh well."

The parking lot opened to the main road, which only went two ways in a small town with apartments and shops stretching all the way to the suburban houses. At least the gas station/mini-mart was along the way, but it was still a decent walk, especially in _this _weather. It was cold, and rainy, and the rain was cold to top it off. As Alfred somewhat-jogged, somewhat-walked down the sidewalk, feebly holding a hand over his forehead to keep his glasses from getting doused, he approached a bus stop - actually, _the _one and only bus stop in the whole place - but it was wonderful relief from the fat raindrops smacking his head.

"Holy crap!" Alfred exclaimed once he was under the shelter of a metal roof. He swiped a wet sleeve over his glasses, but that only made it worse, so he took them off to scrub them with his undershirt. He put them back into place and glanced around the hut when subtle light caught his attention. A lone stranger sat on the bench, far away from anyone as the walls could allow, but there was something about him that made him stand out from the rain. "Heya."

The other blond slowly turned his head like he was some kind of creature in a horror movie, but his expression seemed like Alfred had three eyes. Alfred prodded his forehead. He still had only two. He said again, "Heya. Waiting out the rain, too?"

His company turned his gaze away. "I'm waiting for something," the man's voice was low, but his accent was interesting. "That is for sure."

Alfred had to laugh a little. "You don't like the rain?"

The man's eyes flickered to him again, and he politely smiled. "A bird can't fly with wet feathers."

"Me either!" Alfred received an offended look from that. "Hey, a duck can!"

The other guy's mouth opened like he was about to say something, but he just shook his head and looked to the road. "I suppose you're right."

Alfred scrunched his face at the dude, knowing he caught glimpses of him around town before, but not quite pinpointing his name or face. He glanced to the rain for change, but it didn't look like it was letting up. "Aw man, it's still bad. I'm going to have to go back out there just for some freaking milk. I hope it's worth it, Mattie! I can't even see a foot in front of my own face!"

With that, Alfred braced himself before reentering the downpour. He curled and uncurled his fingers as he squinted at the shops, trying to keep feelings in his hands. "I-I think I'm on the wrong side of the street."

A lone yellow light peeked through the mist, and Alfred almost turfed from a dip in the sidewalk. A few maniacs sped by, driving in this weather and spraying water everywhere as if it wasn't bad enough. "Clear?" He guessed when nobody else passed. He only heard the wind and rain and his teeth chattering. "Clear!"

Alfred ran forward. It was not clear. A car sped down the intersection, tires screeching as it turned without warning. He yelled and stumbled backward from the idiot that was in such a rush to get places that they felt entitled to not only ignore their turn signal, but basic mannerisms of stopping at a three way. A huge wave of road water splattered his face as they rode off, leaving him even more drenched.

"Holy fuck!" Alfred managed to say and shook his arms in disbelief. "What an asshole!"

A horn honked, and he snapped his head in its direction to get an eyeful of headlights. He didn't even have time to scream. A force from behind knocked him off his feet, and the car swerved with an ear-splitting screech as he took to the air. His stomach flipped at the momentarily flying sensation before he made contact with the road again and he rolled over, colliding into the curb with his elbow.

Alfred's mouth popped open, eyes wide to the gray skies pouring on his face at the sound of the car grating against asphalt as it slammed to a stop. Alfred went to turn over, but hunched and wreathed from a strong and sudden pain grabbing his side. He tried the other side, whining, and with every gasp came more aching. It was very hard to breathe, increasingly so. Something was wrong. He tasted blood in his mouth. Now he really couldn't breathe.

No, no, Alfred panicked, he had to get up. If he could at least pull himself from laying in the road, then everything would be all right. Something grabbed his shoulder and he hardly reacted, trying to get some air down, but only liquid came up.

"No," somebody was there. "Don't move."

Alfred's mouth bobbed up and down, trying to tell them he couldn't breathe, but his entire body went limp as a numbing sensation spread throughout. A hand pressed against his side, and he twitched from the ache shooting over his chest, and whoever was above hushed him again. Then came the sensation of bone shifting and snapping back into place. His eyes flew open and he took a sharp inhale, about to screech in disgust, but stopped himself. He could breathe again. He spat out some blood that was in his mouth as his eyes blindly glanced around.

Rough hands shoved his chest, and Alfred didn't have the strength to refuse. "I told you to not move, idiot!"

Alfred squinted at the glowing in front of his face. "Wha...what..."

The glowing person darted away.

Alfred's arm trembled as it lifted to grab at the air, "Hey, wait!"

"Sir? Sir?" A much more panicked voice called over the rain. "There was somebody..."

"Over there! Oh my God! Call the ambulance!"

A newcomer knelt beside Alfred and groped his arm, shouting, "Are you all right?"

"Hey! Don't touch him until the police get here!"

"You hit him, moron!"

"Shut up and sit down! You hit your head, too!"

Alfred groaned in pain and annoyance and annoyance from the pain, and laid his head back to close his eyes against the rain. When they came, sirens shrieking, the paramedics seemed overdramatic, busting out the stretcher just for him. Their jerky motions, the bumpy ride, all the lights flashing before his face, and he remembered slowly smiling at one of the medics, not exactly sure why he was happy to be caught up in an accident like that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Mission Status: Failed.

A cold, but delicate touch grazed Alfred's forearm, over a tube sticking out of his skin and down to his fingers. His hand twitched, but he turned his head away, ignoring what had to be one of the nurses checking on him so he could keep dozing. _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Alfred knitted his eyebrows together, wanting to beep right back at the heart monitor. It was quiet, but not when it was right over his head. He was put under in the E.R., but didn't catch much shut eye from then, between the staff's shoes squeaking on the ground and all their chit-chatting and laughing right down the hall. Not only did they smell weird, hospitals were freaking noisy!

Since the monitor was being rude, Alfred decided he was awake for the time being, and stirred. He winced at the ache clutching at his side. He had flung across the street and collided with the sidewalk. That beyond sucked. For such a hard hit, at least he was breathing right again. A nice, slow dragging sensation ran over his scalp, and back again, and he smacked his lips in content.

Alfred patted the mattress along side of himself, but only felt blankets. "Where..." his voice rasped with sleep, "Where my glasses at?" Something along side him grunted, and it was some_one _gently scratching his head. He froze, hoping that was his brother. "Uh..."

"Oh, you...you're awake," someone who was _not _his brother announced, still running their fingers through his hair. "Relax."

Alfred scrunched the bed sheets, obviously not relaxing. "Who are you? You're not a nurse."

The body pressed against his shoulder let out a snort of amusement. "No, I'm not." He stopped, and an euphoric sensation ran over his body. "Is that better now?"

Alfred lightly kicked at the feelings, but didn't feel like doing much else despite his head flinging all these questions around.

"You were in a very bad accident," the stranger kept scratching. It felt good, but his body wasn't warm at all. It was like leaning against a rock. "A car hit you. You broke a few of your ribs. The passenger called the ambulance," he drilled out like this was some kind of info-commercial. "You are here now. You will be okay."

The heart monitor quickened. The itching stopped. Alfred shoved the stranger with his good side, right off the bed and quickly felt around, groping for a panic button. He smacked it repeatedly and grabbed his pillow, ready to fight his freaky visitor. "You better get the fuck away from me!"

The stranger grunted, and Alfred watched his figure push himself to his feet. "Alfred! Stop!"

"How do you know my name? Huh? Don't think I won't hit you with this!"

"Good grief, it's on your hospital bracelet! Idiot!"

This was the same guy from the bus stop. Alfred took a shuddering breath, then threw his pillow at him with all his might. He doubled over from pain seizing his side.

"Mister Alfred!" A new, lady voice called out, "Oh no, what happened?!"

"Stranger danger!" Alfred jabbed a finger at the guy...or where the guy was a second ago. "Huh?"

The nurse scurried over and ran her hand over his tube, then his head. "Please calm down! Where is your pillow?"

"Ugh, on the floor. Where are my glasses?" Alfred asked as the nurse tucked his Anti-Stranger weapon behind his back.

"Please, sir, you need to relax," she gently pressed on his chest, and he complied, still glancing around the room for any extraneous blurs. "Here," something grazed along his face, and he blinked as everything came into focus.

One of his lens were cracked up its whole height, but his glasses were in one piece, just like him. Cracked, but still in one piece. The nurse held out her hands in questioning comfort, and Alfred slowly nodded. "It's all good," he cheaply reassured. "Just...uh, bad dream?"

She smiled and went to the other side of the bed to check over all the machines. "Almost time to eat, Mister Alfred!"

"Yay," Alfred weakly rejoiced. His stomach didn't wake up yet from all the anesthesia. "Hey, can you stay in here? Just for a little bit?"

The nurse gave him a weird look. "You stay."

"No, you." Alfred pouted and clutched onto his blankets. "Please?"

She giggled. "You will be fine. I'm down the hall if you need help, okay?"

"But-"

The nurse breezed out of the room. Usually the puppy-eyes worked.

Alfred slouched against his pillow, grumbling at the mint green walls. Someone walked by the room, and he sat up, yelling, "Stranger danger!" He fell back, moaning in pain. Maybe that guy was a weird drug-induced dream. After all, he heard that everyone in his dreams is somebody he saw before. He just wished was Matthew there instead.

The nurse returned so soon, and Alfred let out a sigh of relief. "I missed you!"

She smiled, "You have a visitor, Mister Alfred." She turned to the doorway, but the curtain between Alfred and the other, empty bed blocked his view. "You go see brother now."

Brother? Alfred tossed his head back, "Dude, yes." He wiggled to straighten and look good when his bro came around the curtain. Matthew towered over the bed, gawking like Alfred sprouted extra appendages. He didn't; he already checked. "Heya, Mattie! How are you?"

"Alfred?"

Alfred grinned. Who else? "Yeah?"

Matthew let out a soft scoff, "You're all right!"

"Of course man!" Alfred flashed a thumbs-up, "You can't take a hero down that easily!"

Matthew lunged, making Alfred yelp in delighted surprise, and then pain from his eager embrace. Holy cow, when did he get so strong? "Whoa, take it easy!" His ribs begged against Matthew's arm, "The quacks said a couple of my ribs are cracked. Yuck! You're all wet!"

"Oh, sorry," Matthew jerked away and flopped on the side of the bed, running a hand through his dripping hair. "It's still pouring outside." He looked to Alfred. "You said you were all right."

"Yeah, I could be in worse shape." _Was_ in worse shape. "I didn't get banged up too bad."

"I should have been with you."

Alfred made a face. "Mattie, I'm actually really, _really_ glad you weren't. You're blinder than I am! Who knows what would have happened and where we would have ended up!"

Of course, rather than being touched, Matthew grew annoyed. "Seriously? So much for worrying!" He shook his head, but something about his expression made it seem he was glad, too, as he stared out the window overlooking the ground floor. Soft light peeked over the roof, but the skies were still thick with gray clouds.

"What happened anyway?"

Alfred looked away. Matthew glanced over his shoulder, so he slapped on a big grin, "What'd you hear?"

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you second."

"Ugh. I was watching the news and there was a flood warning." Matthew sat at home, probably all warm and cozy under blankets while Alfred trudged through dirty puddles and the rain! If it were not for the giant bruise on his side, Al would have hooked his arm around his brother's neck and scrubbed his scalp with a fist.

"Then the hospital called," Matthew continued, blissfully ignorant of the Hellfire behind Alfred's smile. "They asked for Dad, but I told them that he was overseas."

"He's been overseas for a while now. Everyone knows that."

"Apparently, not the hospital. Anyway, they asked if I was his son, and I said I was, and then, they told me that you were here."

"Yeah? And?"

"I just ran outside."

Alfred put on his best shit-eating grin. "Aw, was my baby brother so worried he risked getting a little cold for me?"

"I'm older than you Al," Matthew seethed. Alfred struck something good. "And I thought you were in a terrible accident!"

"I was!"

"Will you tell me what happened already?!"

"Uh..." Alfred made himself too busy with straightening out his blankets for a distracting moment. What the Hell was he supposed to say without sounding like he belonged in the looney bin? "I was, um, walking down the street to get some milk like you wanted me to..."

Totally normal.

"And to see if you could get a job at the quick-stop," Matthew added.

Alfred balled his hands into fists. He almost died, just to get a job at a _mini-mart._ So heroic. He rolled his eyes. "Looks like I _totally _ forgot, dude! I guess it's a good thing I never even got there!"

Matthew gaped in horror, "Al!"

"Kidding, Mattie!" Alfred pretended to flinch from his brother's stare down. "I'm kidding! Don't look at me like that!"

"Sure." Matthew turned his glare to the wall. "What happened next?"

Alfred pulled up his blanket a bit more. "I was just trying to get across the street, and there were cars flying everywhere, and I thought it was all good, but then it wasn't! There was this terrible, and I mean absolutely awful, horrible screeching noise!" His heart monitor started to beep faster. The traitor. "I turned around, and..."

Matthew turned around and glanced at the beeping screen, then to his brother, ever so worried. "And?"

"Um..."

"Al! What happened?! You turned around?"

Alfred picked at a wrinkle in his gown, avoiding the anguish behind Matthew's glasses. "I don't know if I should say it. You're not going to believe me."

"Believe you?" Matthew scoffed, "Al, it's _you _we're talking about. I never believe you." Alfred's mouth popped open, and Mattie quickly shook his hands, "I mean, I don't believe your stories!"

"I'm being serious!" Alfred grunted and clutched onto his side.

Matthew glanced between his hand and his face. "Just how serious?"

Alfred sighed, and nodded to the curtain. "Is there anybody around?"

Matthew furrowed his eyebrows before getting off the bed and checking behind the curtain. He shook his head and crept closer again.

"Okay. Do you know how it was raining really bad a few minutes ago?" Alfred didn't wait for Matthew to answer the obvious question, "I couldn't see a foot in front of my face, so I was listening to the cars passing by and hoping for the best."

Matthew sucked in a sharp breath. "Oh, my God."

Alfred had to agree. "Yeah, well, it was to get your dumb milk. Anyway, I thought there were no cars coming, so I went. Turns out some asshole decided that he didn't need to wait for anybody, and decided to just floor it."

"Then he...?!"

Alfred decided to cut it right there. "Sure thing! I saw headlights, and this horn blared in my ear, but I couldn't freaking move! You think when a giant car is coming right at you, you'd obviously get out of the way, but I just..."

"You froze."

It was freezing. Alfred shuddered and rubbed his arms. Someone must have turned on the air conditioning in the middle of winter. "I thought I was going to die right then and there."

Captain Obvious said, "But you didn't."

"No! I just..._whoosh_! Flew right across the street, totally missing the car."

"Wait...how did you...without touching the car?"

"Exactly." Alfred jabbed a finger, "Somebody pushed me."

Matthew gawked. "Someone..."

"Yep! I fell right on the curb and snapped my freaking ribs, dude."

"Don't stop now! What happened to the person that pushed you?"

"He was right there, Mattie! I had no idea how he didn't get hit. Well, honestly, I wasn't worried about him because I was lying there like, 'Fuck! My ribs!'"

"Yeah, I would think-"

"But then...!" Alfred took a deep breath against his bandages. "Okay, now you're _really _not going to believe me."

Matthew's dull expression challenged Alfred to try.

"All right, you better not call the psych ward on me."

"Spill it."

"He touched me!"

"What, all creepy-like?!"

"No! Not all creepy-like! He just..." Alfred wiggled his fingers, unsure how to describe it. "When he put his hands on me, everything just...stopped hurting." He looked up to his brother. "I think I almost died."

"But that...that guy helped...right?"

"Yeah." Alfred put a palm to his injured ribs again. "Weird, huh?"

"Did you ever see him before?"

"Dude, I could hardly see as is. You know, from the rain? Plus, my glasses went flying, so..."

"Oh. Any idea who...or maybe...what?"

Alfred snorted. "I don't know. Jesus?"

Matthew laughed. "Okay, Al. Sure." He seemed to think for a moment before smiling and leaning over to wrap his arms around Alfred again. "I'm glad you're okay."

Alfred smiled and patted his back. "Yeah, me too."

Matthew lingered for another half-hour or so, but he was still damp and cold, so he had a decent excuse to go back home.

"The docs are keeping me for at least another night," Alfred told him. "I'm guessing they want to know what happened."

"Or how the Hell you even got out alive. I heard some of them talking about it when I was coming up. They said the car's front side was totaled. Bent around a stop sign."

"Yeah, there's their sign. Should've stopped in the first place."

Matthew ran a knuckle over his head. "You ass."

"Hey! Ouch! I'm not telling them anything, 'cause you know they'll toss my ass in the looney bin!"

"You already belong there as is," Matthew bent down to give his brother another awkward hug. "Love you, Al. Come home soon, okay?"

Alfred realized he was clutching onto his arms, and promptly let go to grip his blanket instead. "That's pretty gay of you, Mattie, but...thanks. Love you, too."

Matthew lovingly flipped him off as he left the room.

Alfred was alone again. He grabbed his pillow from behind himself and gripped it to his chest, not taking any chances with weird dreams and touchy strangers.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

The lights flickered.

Alfred looked up.

"Do not be afraid."

He jumped, bothering the sorts of bumps and bruises over his body. The glowing man stood at the foot of his cot. Alfred immediately went for the call button.

"No!" All the lights went dark. The heart monitor stopped beeping. The stranger pointed a finger at Alfred. "Hands off. Now."

Alfred glanced around the room to see who he was talking to. "Hey, fuck you, you..." He landed his glare on the stranger, "You freaky-eyebrowed creep. I'll throw a pillow at you."

The stranger clenched his fists, then let out a big sigh. Everything around them turned back on with various beeps and whirls. "There is no need for any of that. I am not here to bring you any harm." A slow smirk edged across his pale face. "I saved your life, after all."

Alfred lowered his arm from the nurse button. "How? You were at the bus stop."

"I followed you, idiot."

"Ew!"

The man scoffed, "Not for that sort, _child._ You even said yourself you couldn't see a foot in front of your face and you _still _thought it was a good idea to go running out into that storm? You were asking for something to happen!"

"Hey, I didn't think it was a good idea either."

"Yet you still did it."

Alfred shrugged. "Okay? Uh...oops?"

"Well, that just makes my job a bit more difficult now."

"Oh. Sorry?"

The man shook his head as he went around the cot, closer to Alfred.

Alfred threw his pillow at him.

"Ugh!" The stranger caught it with a surprised step back. "Seriously?!"

"I told you I'd throw it if you came over here!" Alfred heaved a leg over the other side of his bed.

"Alfred, stop, what are you doing!" A cold hand clamped onto his forearm, and Alfred's body gave into mush as he fell back onto his cot. The glowing man glared from above his head. "You could have pulled out your IV. Painfully. Idiot."

"Stop calling me an idiot!" Alfred yanked away from his clammy hold. "And quit touching me! You're a horrible person."

Suddenly, the guy was on the other side of the bed, tossing his legs back onto the mattress. With a hard glare, he said, "Your definition of horrible must greatly contrast mine."

Great, now Alfred kind of felt bad. "Sorry...I guess. Can I...have my pillow back?"

The guy gave him a dirty look, rightfully so, and went around the bed to push it behind Alfred's back.

"Thanks for giving back my pillow."

"Thank you for throwing it at me."

Alfred watched the man tuck his blanket back under his legs. Hopefully that kind gesture ruled him out from being a psychopath murderer. Stalker was still in the air. "What are you doing here?"

The guy was really close now, finishing the last tucks, and honestly, it made Alfred pretty dang cozy. He glanced up to the ceiling, pausing like he was making up something.

Alfred leaned away as much as possible. "Dude?"

"You can see it, can't you? My aura."

"You who what now?"

"The glowing, idiot."

"Oh!" Alfred's voice pitched up a tad. "That's not normal?"

The guy furrowed his monstrosities of eyebrows. "Well, yes, to me, but to you-"

"Uh, that was kind of a joke."

"Oh." He pulled away, clearing his throat, "Alfred, people usually don't see this sort of thing. For very good reasons, not only for us, but for you, too."

"Huh? Okay."

The man stared dully.

"Dude, I'm too full of painkillers for this kind of thing. Could you like, cut to the chase? What's up with you? With everything?"

"The chase is that I am not going to tell you anything. You already have been exposed enough to see the glowing, and that is as far as I'm going to let it go."

Alfred groaned in annoyance. "Let what go?"

The man softly smiled and slowly settled beside him. Alfred wondered how far he could make it out of this room. "Don't worry about it. You were going to the mini-market, weren't you?"

Maybe Alfred could grab the curtain and rip it down and throw it at this guy, tangling him as he made his grand escape. "Uh, yes."

"It was downpouring."

Alfred eyed the wetness from the guy soaking into his blanket. "Yeah," he said coldly. "It was."

"Then, a car lost control, hydroplaning while you were crossing the street."

"Actually, the guy ran a red light-"

A cool hand wrapped around his. "The doctors are shocked at how unscathed you got out of there. Just a few bruises, road rash, broken ribs. It could have been much worse." He leaned in. "A miracle. You are very lucky."

And his eyes were very green. As much as Alfred didn't want to agree with the stranger, _maybe _he was right. Broken ribs would only play against him. Lightning flashed into the room, and Alfred glanced to their shadows on the curtain, going wide-eyed from the split illumination of large growths protruding from the man's back. He looked to his visitor, jumping as the dark skies let out a rumble of thunder. The heart monitor told of his panic before he could.

"Alfred? Are you all right?"

Not even those funny feelings washing into his blood from this guy's touch could ease the realization. "You're a ghost!"

The man put on this worried expression. "Pardon?"

"Oh, my God!" Alfred shouted, and started to wiggle away from him in panic, "You're a freaking monster-creature-thing or something!"

"I am not-"

"No, no!" Alfred wreathed under the blankets that entrapped him. "You're freaking-"

"Alfred, with the squirming again. You're going to-"

Alfred heaved, taking the blanket with him to the floor. He smacked the cold tiles, freezing as pain seized the whole upper half of his body. "Ow...oh, fuck, my rib..." It felt like his ribs were jabbing into his lung again. At the sound of footsteps, he wreathed to get out of his entanglement, but wound up hunching over and grabbing his side.

"This is getting beyond ridiculous!" The man spat, and plucked Alfred off the floor. Well, half of him, based on his struggling. Alfred cried out at the feeling of stabbed as he was shoved back onto the bed, and was pinned down by his wrists. "What's wrong with you?! Ugh, let me see," the guy took a hand away to touch his side. Al hissed and tried to kick his legs, but found it hard to move. "Yes, you shifted something again. Bad. Idiot. Keep quiet, or else the nurses are going to investigate."

Alfred blanched at the feeling of bone moving along his side. "I'm sorry, dude! Please don't eat me! Mattie will be all alone-"

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"W-well, you-you're not human..."

"And?"

"That means I'm going to die, right?"

"If you keep on throwing yourself everywhere then, yes, you're going to kill yourself! Do you want that?"

"No!"

"Then stop squirming!"

Alfred flinched. "So you're not here to eat me-"

The glowing guy huffed and puffed, "No, I'm not here to eat you! Not everything that is not a human wants to eat people, Alfred. Good Lord, no." He let go of Alfred and motioned for him to move. "Now lie down against your pillow and stop wiggling around."

Alfred eagerly complied, lurching himself to the other side of the bed and then flopping down on his uninjured side, wincing from the movement. His visitor drug a hand through his own mess of blond hair and let out a big sigh, hopefully to calm down. "What are you?"

"The glowing. I healed you. Isn't it obvious?" Alfred stared at him, obviously puzzled. "Really? Usually your kind is so...eager to jump on the possibility that an angel has come down to stand before them."

"I'm sorry, did you say angel, like those things that fling decapitated heads and swords around?" Alfred mashed his eyebrows together as the guy tugged and tucked in his hospital blanket without reply. He didn't seem to have swords or heads with him, but that glowing felt like something that would be from Heaven. Al would take an angel over any person-chowing monster any day. "What are you doing here?"

His company sat on the mattress beside him and twisted around to gaze at his face. "Why don't you go to sleep now?" His smile seemed fake. "I'm sure you have gone beyond with tiring yourself out."

Alfred latched a hand onto the 'angel's' forearm. "Hey, you didn't answer my question." He asked before the guy could say anything, "Are you really an angel? You don't look like one. Where's your flaming sword?"

"I left it in Heaven."

Alfred had to laugh, and the dude actually cracked a little smile, too. "Wow. An actual angel? No way. I mean, I'm glad you saved me, and it's so typical to ask this question, but why me? You sure you're not going to cut my head off or something? Why here? Were you like, watching over me?"

The man lifted a thin hand from his lap to brush hair from Alfred's forehead. "Something like that."

Whenever cold fingers grazed Alfred's skin, a spritz of gentle euphoria sprinted over him, and he blinked, trying to keep his eyes open against the feeling. "Whoa. Straight out of my dreams or somethin'..."

"It's all right. Sleep. Tomorrow is a good day to just...forget it all and get better."

Alfred let his eyes close. "That sounds really ominous."

The bed dipped a little, and then something tickled his skin. His fingertips twitched against a soft, damp sound against his cheek, and a dopey smile scrunched one side of his face. The angel just kissed him. Alfred would rather have a cute lady-angel doing it, but hey, he almost just died. He'd take what he could get at this point.

"This little piggy was going to the mini-market..."

"It was downpouring. A car was coming..."

"You were hurt..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Alfred was hurt. He woke up crying from a gripping pain in his side, in a hospital room. The nurses tried to calm him down, and he asked them what happened. They seemed confused. He was outside. It was downpouring. A car swerved out of control. He was very lucky to get away.

"Can I go home soon?"

They promised soon. Not until another day or so, because of this newfound delirium. Alfred didn't even know he was not confused before, and now he was confused, which only made him more confused. The doctor claimed that the brain will purposely try to forget things to heal and protect itself. Alfred didn't want to forget, but it made his head hurt trying to remember.

"Did anybody come by to visit me yet?"

His brother, they said.

"Can I call him?"

The nurse brought over a table-top phone for him to use. As soon as the other line picked up, Alfred squawked into the receiver, "Matthew!"

"Oh my God, what?!"

"What happened?!"

"Huh? What do you mean what happened? Where are you?!"

"I'm at the hospital!"

"What?! You're the one who's in the hospital and you're asking _me _what happened?!" Matthew was quiet for a moment before bursting, "Are you all right?!"

"I don't know! Am I?! The nurses told me you visited yesterday!"

"I did?!"

"Did you?!"

"I...I don't remember."

"Did you hit your head, too?"

"You hit your head?"

"Yeah! I was hit by a car trying to pick up your stupid milk! What's wrong with you?!"

"Agh! I don't know!" Matthew cried. "What's happening?"

Alfred leaned into his pillow and rubbed his forehead, which was tender to the touch. "A couple of my ribs are cracked, bro!"

"Wait, you were hit by a car?"

"Yeah! Apparently!"

"Wait, seriously?!"

Alfred scoffed, "Uh, it sure feels serious, dude!"

"But only a couple of your ribs are cracked, right?"

"Yeah. They said I was pretty lucky to get away with that." Even though it sure did not feel like it...

"Jeez. Okay. Wow. If they say you were lucky, that probably means you weren't ran over, like, all the way, which would have broken _more _stuff. If you were only bumped into, how could you get hit by a car and only break your ribs? Something doesn't seem right."

Alfred tried to remember. He was walking...it was raining...headlights...hospital. "I don't...I don't remember!"

"Okay! It's okay! Don't think too hard! Don't want your brain breaking, too."

"Mattie!" Alfred had to laugh, only to sputter in aching as his side hurt. "Ow."

"You all right? Do you want me to come over?"

"No, you need to get to school. At least one of us should go."

"Sure, okay, Dad. You were just ran over."

"Mattie, it's okay!" Alfred coughed. "I got a bunch of people looking after me. I'll still be here afterwards."

"Uh huh."

"Bro?"

"Yo, I'm on the computer. Something about it is already posted on social media. Apparently, a car must have hydroplaned and crashed into a stop sign. Four people were on the scene, and almost everyone is in the hospital."

"Almost everyone?"

"Yeah, you, the driver, the passenger...some people are saying they heard another voice, but it may have just been a bystander. No casualties. This is weird."

Alfred yawned and went to shift to his other side, but got a nasty reminder from his body not to do that. "Weird."

"You think somebody would have remembered. Even bits and pieces, and then combining them all together, but-"

"Dude, it's fine." Alfred glanced to the wall clock. "It's almost time for school. You should go soon. Don't worry about me."

"Oh, hush, you just want to sleep all day."

"Hell yeah, I do."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

The more Alfred used the next couple of days to contemplate, the worse it became. He was going to the mini-market. It was downpouring. He was crossing the street. A car lost control. He was very lucky. It was like that water drop torture but for his brain.

Alfred was finally released with a complimentarily cane (courtesy of Dad's health insurance) and just a few hours before Matthew would come home from school. He limped down the sidewalks, trying to backtrack his steps, and anybody who was out running errands slowed down to stare at the new talk of the town. He huddled by the only major intersection and stopped, squinting at the traffic lights, and the itty camera posed on top.

Ha, if only a crime or something important like someone almost getting killed by a car happened, maybe the police would let the family view the footage. Alfred wondered if the cameras even worked. He lifted a hand and extended his middle finger before limping away.

Someone in a car stopped, and the front passenger window rolled down, and the driver leaned over to shout from the other side of the street. "Hey! Hey!"

Alfred slowed and waved.

"You need a ride?"

He shook his head.

"You sure?"

Alfred vigorously nodded. "Yeah! Just got out of the hospital. I need to stretch my legs."

"All right!" The guy popped back into the vehicle with a little wave and drove off.

The Bonnefoy house was empty and quiet, and Alfred felt groggy with envy. He immediately opted for a shower that was a bit too hot, enough to make his knees and toes red, but it washed away the pristine and cold discomfort of his hospital room. A deep purple/scarlet gash wrapped around his left side, and he poked the lighter parts of it, watching it turn funny colors in the mirror.

Alfred was tempted to just lie down, but after days of alternating between therapy and sleeping, he needed to keep his hands and mind busy. He itched to play his video games, eager to lose himself in their flashy colors and violence. A while later, the front door opened and closed, and the obvious snickering announced his brother's arrival.

Matthew threw his arms around Alfred's shoulders and cheered, "Hey, you! Welcome home!"

"Hey!" Alfred tapped his arm.

"Oh," Matthew slid away with a big sigh. "I guess the X-box gave a warmer welcome, huh?"

Alfred shot up from the couch and limped around the room to his brother's open arms. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks." They pulled away. "How's your side?"

Alfred lifted his sweatshirt.

"Ew! Looks bad."

"Don't poke it!"

"Oh, sorry."

"How was school? Did people ask about me?"

"Of course they did. It was really annoying."

"What, school, or my friends?"

Matthew hesitated. "Uh, both?"

"That bad?"

"It's always long and bad, Alfred. Plus I was worrying-"

Alfred spun away, back to the couch, hollering, "Oh my God! With the worrying!"

"Hey! With Dad away all the time, someone's got to do it!"

Alfred shook his head and sank back into his game. He heard Matthew grumble to himself, but didn't pay him much mind as he stomped up the steps. Then, he came down and clattered around the kitchen. Went back upstairs. Jittered around up there, too, before coming back down and digging through the downstairs closet right next to the steps.

"Bro, what are you doing?"

Matthew towed a vacuum cleaner into the living room, but Alfred was compelled to push his character into that level's endpoint with seconds left on the clock and shoot at one of the pesky virtual birds flapping and screeching pass the screen for a challenge. Just as his character rolled into the checkpoint, the screen erupted into an explosion of white feathers and the victory stats emerged.

Alfred threw his hands in the air, finally getting it after working on it for hours. "Boo-yah!" He doubled over, clutching at his side. "Fuck, that hurts. Totally got that round cleared like a pro."

The voice of reason said, "Al, you shouldn't move so abruptly."

Alfred's side trembled as he pushed himself to sit up straight. "I'm fine, bro, all healed!"

Matthew called from beside the couch, "Oh, you so are not."

"_Almost _healed."

"Yeah right, you _just _showed me that bruise under your shirt. Besides, you wouldn't already be _almost _healed. Do you know how long it takes for broken bones to heal?"

"Several weeks," Alfred gave his brother a pout from the side of his eye. "Believe it or not, I pay attention in school."

"Sure, but it hasn't even been several _days_!"

"Dude," Alfred swished a hand, trying to get Matthew to leave him alone and let him play his darn game, "you're going to have to accept that you have a totally awesome brother that can heal fast. _I _drink my milk."

"Ugh, Al." Matthew smacked his hands on his jeans. "Miraculously fast?"

A replay of Alfred's grand finish flashed across the TV again. "Yeah," he said distractedly as many white feathers flew across the screen. "Miraculously fast..."

Alfred shook his head and glanced over to his bro, who grew quiet. Mattie unraveled the cord and plugged in the vacuum. "Wait, whoa! You're not going to do that now, are you?!"

Matthew gave him a stupid look. "It's the only thing left to do, then I'll be done."

Alfred pleaded, "Can't you do that some other time? Dad's not even here."

"But you still got food crumbs all over the place. Move."

"No."

"Yes."

Alfred stuck out his lower lip. "Mattie, please? Not now?"

Matthew glared. "That doesn't work on me."

"Please, Mattie!" It was like cracking another rib to get this stubborn cub to move. "I'm so sick! My ribs hurt!" Alfred coughed and flopped to his uninjured side. "I'm dying!"

Matthew lightly snorted and turned away, but Alfred caught him trying not to laugh. "Fine, I was going to go outside for a bit anyway, but..."

He started to blabber about something, but Alfred pushed himself up and pretended to be busy mashing the controller buttons. "Yeah, yeah, uh, five minutes!"

As soon as Matthew left the room in a quiet huff, Alfred stilled, listening for the rear door to shut. As soon as the latch met wood, he shoved himself over the arm of the couch, and nearly tumbled face first into the carpet. He limped to the stair case, moaning in pain with regret of leaving his cane all the way up there. He decided that he simply had to scale the steps on all fours.

"Five minutes should be enough," Alfred shoved into his bedroom, and stopped in the doorway. It was the same as it always have been. He pushed from the door, eyes jumping around the clothes making a lazy attempt for the laundry basket at the foot at the haphazardly made bed, to the various clutter on his nightstand. He approached the drawers, gazing down like a hawk at his spare glasses case, some candy wrappers, a picture of the family, a handkerchief draped over a glass jar...

Alfred plucked the rag away, tossing it onto the floor. "Aha!" He grabbed the jar, holding it up like a trophy. "I thought you looked familiar!" He turned it over, gazing at the lone white feather resting within its protective walls. He furrowed his eyebrows, bringing it closer to his face. The bedroom was a bit dark, so it was odd for the feather to look like it was...glowing.

"What the...heck." Alfred twisted the lid with a little bit of painful force and it popped off. He tipped the jar toward his face again to get a better view. Nope; still glowing. He tried to remember if he just found it, or had it for a while. A while. Some nights it would mystify him as a little kid, but then, he started to get annoyed by the constant glowing and threw a rag over it and kept it covered ever since.

Alfred prodded at the stiff upper tufts of the feather, and as soon as his fingertip made contact, a slight shudder ran up his wrist, and the glow died. He was outside. It was downpouring. A car was coming. Alfred was lucky.

It didn't hit him.

"That's not a bird feather!" Alfred shouted to his empty bedroom. "That's an angel feather!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

Alfred pelted down the stairs with his cane just as the back door swung open.

"Mattie!"

"Alfred!"

Both brothers stared at one another. Alfred winced from his hard breathing, "Dude, I think..." He wagged his head side-to-side and clutched his ribs.

Matthew drew closer and hovered a hand over his. "Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself again?"

"No! But I know what did!"

"Uh...a car running into you?"

"The car didn't even touch me, dude!" Alfred waved his hand and turned for the front door. "Some guy pushed me out of the way. Someone's who been around for a much longer time than I thought!"

"Alfred!" Matthew followed right on his heels. "I think I remember something, too! There was a weird _drawing _in the shed!"

"Yep! So, nobody better say I'm losing my mind!" Alfred threw open the door and bumbled onto the porch. "I knew it!"

"Where the Hell are you going?"

"It's all good!" Alfred lowered himself from the porch steps before going down the sidewalk as fast as he could. "Stay there, Mattie! I got to meet up with somebody!"

Luckily Matthew's stubbornness kept him rooted in the doorway. Alfred wondered aloud, "Drawing in the shed?" He didn't look back.

Alfred slowed when he reached _the _intersection, eventually stopping for breath. "Man, this sucks." He smacked his cane against the side of his sneaker. "I'm not even old. I shouldn't have to use this." Then again, if any angels try to zap his brain meat, he could use it as a weapon. "Angels?" He shrugged and kept going.

One of the three stop signs was bent completely backwards, almost touching the sidewalk. Alfred shook his head, laughing at it. Make that four casualties in total. The bus stop was next, and he could see a person's shadow in there, sitting on the bench. He raised his free hand and smacked as hard as he could on the wall, scaring the crap out of the person inside.

That was an old lady scream. Crap. Alfred peeked inside to see an elderly woman hunched in the corner, clutching onto her bag, and her eyes were all wide with trauma. "Why did you do that?!"

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were somebody else! Sorry!" Alfred hurried away, wincing from his aches and the old lady cursing the local youths. She had a good point. Why would the guy he was looking for be right there? That'd be too easy. Another pang grasped his side, and he gave it an irritated whine, too busy browsing inside the shops to bother to be hindered by it.

Normal, non-glowing people moved in, out, and all around the stores. Alfred was growing weary just from walking, and he wasn't even half way across town yet. He finally stopped because it was getting really bad, and what if he broke the already fragile fracture again, without any angels around?

"Oh," he chuckled breathlessly at where he just so happened to stop. It was a bland building, just like the rest, but it was the bookshop where Matthew worked. There was one guy working at the register, staring down like Alfred was pathetic, but some shadowy movement caught his attention further into the building. Al neared the window, squinting at the various book shelves, and gasped at a glimpse of a glowing figure weaving between the aisles.

"Gotcha! Ooh! I gotcha!" Alfred grunted like an animal as he forced himself up the steps and busted open the door. He immediately went toward the back, eyes following the drifting glow, which was just around the corner. Al almost fell on his face again from rushing. "Hey!"

"Hello!" The book keeper spun around and blurted out of habit, "How can-oh, you're my Matthew's brother! Oh, your cane! Yes, I heard what happened! Are you all right?!"

This man was Antonio, Matthew's boss. Opposite of what he was looking for; brunette hair, tanned complexion, nice eyebrows. However, this guy was glowing. He had to be one of them. Who knew? Obviously, neither of the twins did.

"Not really," Alfred finally said, trying to make light of it. "My bones are crack-a-lackin'!"

"Oh, no! That's not good!"

"Hey, hey, it was a joke."

"Oh! Yes! Funny!"

Did they not have stand-up in Heaven? "Actually, Antonio, I was looking for somebody. I definitely think you can help me."

Antonio tipped his head with a dumb smile. "Me? I'm flattered, but why do you say that?"

"Uh, well," Alfred glanced over his shoulder, and in good measure, too. The cashier nonchalantly peeked around the corner. "I think it'll be really bad if I say it around other people."

"Lovino!" Antonio suddenly shouted. There was a noise of surprise down the other side of the aisle. "The cardboard in the storage room needs to be taken out. _Por favor?_"

Lovino groaned obnoxiously from his hiding spot and marched away. Antonio grabbed Alfred's hand, cooler like the other glowing guy's, and towed him to a miniature lounge for people to read and kids to play. "Sit, please. You do not need to stand."

"If I sit, you'll probably have to help me back up!" Alfred uneasily laughed, and slowly sank into one of the arm chairs.

"That is fine. Now, you are looking for someone?"

"Yep. Let me think...a blond guy with a nasty look on his face and a nasty attitude to go with it. Sound familiar?"

Antonio laughed, "I'm sorry, friend, I know a lot of people like that."

"Okay, that's okay!" Alfred squeezed his eyes shut and bounced his leg, trying to jog his memory. "Oh! Green eyes!"

Crap, Antonio had green eyes, too. It may have been an angel thing.

"Terrible eyebrows?"

Antonio gasped, "Why did you not say so earlier! That sounds a lot like Arthur!"

Alfred shrugged. The name did not sound familiar.

"Yes, he's been around for a while. You must have seen him here and there."

"Yeah, let's say that."

"But Alfred, why did you say that is something you are sure _I _knew? If you ask any old folk at the town hall about him, they could tell you a little."

Lovino passed by with cardboard tucked under his arm, and gave them some serious side-eye before he went out the rear door. Alfred lowered his voice, "With both of your..._radiant _outlooks, I figured you two may know each other."

Antonio's smile fell. "Tell me exactly what you mean."

Alfred gestured vaguely. "You, uh...you're glowing!"

The rear door opened and they looked to Lovino stomping his feet on the asphalt before coming inside. He stopped and stared back. "What?"

"You're doing great, Lovino! Thanks so much!"

"Ugh, yeah," Lovino hurried back to the front counter.

Antonio patted the cushion next to him. "Could you come here, Alfred?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

Antonio motioned for him to lift his arms. Alfred rested his cane against the end table before raising his hands uncertainly. Antonio cupped his injured side, making him jump and hiss in pain before a wonderful flush of happy tinglies came over him. "Wow, you walked all the way here injured like that?"

"Actually, I walked home all the way from the hospital this morning."

Antonio exclaimed in horror, "You cannot do that to yourself! You are a fragile creature and God cares very much about you. Please do not make yourself suffer if it is unnecessary."

"What if it is necessary?"

"To see Arthur? I don't think so, friend."

They shared a laugh.

"So, how long have you known him?"

"Oh, I just met him a few days ago. Well, I really wouldn't call it 'meeting' him, but..." Alfred stopped blabbering at Antonio's obvious shock.

"Only a few days ago? Yet you know about us..."

Alfred took that as a cue to get the Hell out of there. He snatched his cane and pushed himself to his feet. "Thanks for everything, Antonio. I'm going now. The town hall you said? I'll try that! Bye!"

"Huh, what? Hey, be careful! I only numbed it! I didn't fix it!"

Alfred hobbled down the sidewalk in the direction of the school and larger community buildings. A letter board outside of a one-story bricked building announced it was bingo night, and he automatically approached the old people that were filtering into the place like a zoo keeper would approach a loose tiger. An angel would be in here? Playing bingo? Doubtful, but no harm checking, as long as he stayed on the good side of these elderly people.

They were demons as soon as a bingo card was in front of them.

A game was already in play, and some of the newcomers settled at empty tables or stood around the walls, watching over the thinly veiled onslaught that would be unleashed from one little word. Alfred pressed against the wall to rest for a moment and glance around the sea of heads and hats. Against the nearest wall, there was a glowing man about halfway across the room.

Arthur.

Alfred looked away so he wasn't gawking like a creep, but everyone, even the somewhat-disguised angel, was watching the game. He squeezed the foamy handle of his cane before slowly edging his way closer, weaving around the surveyors and trying not to stick the end cap on anybody's feet. Someone called bingo, releasing a wave of grumbling over the crowd. He pressed against the wall again, lingering to pretend he was also watching.

Another glimpse down the conga line of people. Arthur was still observing, not looking interested, but not looking bored. Alfred took mini-breaths before pushing forward again. There was at least two people's worth of space on one of Arthur's sides. Al stood against the wall before scooting down to be abreast to him.

Neither moved, and Alfred didn't know what to say for once. This wasn't like saddling up to a pretty girl in school and asking her to Prom. This was an angel from Heaven, and Al was sure this was the vengeful, head-decapitating-with-flaming-swords kind, not those cute fuzzy-winged cherubs. This was actually a little exciting and dangerous now that he _really _thought about it.

How to talk to a who-knows-how old creature of light without sounding like an idiot?

"Hey."

Alfred sounded like an idiot.

Arthur didn't respond.

No wonder.

"Um, hey..."

"I heard you."

Alfred stared, dumbfounded and hoping that Arthur would say something else, but he just looked to the bingo players again. "I was looking for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah," Alfred lied. He casted a nervous glimpse around the room. Nobody seemed to be watching them. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."

That got the guy's attention. He glanced Alfred down and shook his head. "About what?"

"I was kind of...freaking out before. I mean, I just pulled through a car wreck. Who wouldn't be freaking out about that?" Alfred uneasily laughed and glanced down his shoes. "But uh...thanks for being there. I would have definitely _not _be standing here, talking to you now if you weren't."

"Oh, that's kind of you," Arthur said, "but I haven't the foggiest of what you're talking about."

"What?"

"You must have mistaken me for somebody else."

"N-no! You were in the hospital room with me! I threw a pillow at you!"

Arthur quietly chuckled. "That sounds interesting. I'm afraid I haven't been in any hospitals for quite some time now. Well, I suppose that's a good thing..."

"Yeah, ha-ha..." Alfred gripped his cane tighter. There was no way to mistake a glowing guy for someone else. Unless he forgot, too? Who would, or could make an angel forget anything like that? Maybe he was mistaken. Great, now he was doubting himself. It was probably following Arthur's master plan.

Still, Alfred couldn't just stand there anymore. The bingo was making his eyes wishy-washy. "Sorry," he quickly said to Arthur. "See ya."

Arthur smiled and nodded. "Good day."

A warm sensation bloomed in Alfred's chest like the so-called angel sent a ping of good vibes all the way from there. Alfred hurried out of the hall and took a deep breath of cold air. "That's just freaky," he muttered to himself. "What the Hell am I talking about?"

Since that was a failed mission, Alfred decided to go home. He wanted to lay down again and get off his feet. Matthew was probably worrying about him. Scratch that, he definitely was. He glanced to the town hall, and the current game must have let out, because a bunch of old people were escaping.

Arthur was among them, nodding to the bingo players. He slowed and stared at Alfred hanging on the sidewalk for a quick moment before they both turned away from one another. This was all kind of super-freaky.

Alfred rushed forward and accidently kicked his cane out from under himself and tumbled forward. "Oh, crap!" He landed on his knees and an elbow, the one that he banged up pretty badly from getting flung across the street via angel. "Ooh, ouch, that's not...yeah, definitely not good." His arm felt too tight to stretch out as he reached for his cane, and he had to snort with a weak laugh, "Help, I've fallen, and can't get up."

Something grabbed his shoulder and hovered against his side. "Are you all right, lad? Still breathing?"

Alfred shook his head. Of course it was Arthur. "I think I need Life Alert, dude."

"From the commercials?"

"Ugh, that was a joke."

"Oh." It wasn't just Antonio. It was an angel thing. Arthur bent forward and hoisted Alfred up with his own back. "Are you legs working? Get up."

"Right, yeah. Uh, could you get my cane?"

"Of course." Arthur slid away to grab it. "A car accident, correct? If you are this grievously injured, why are you walking all over town?"

"I had errands to run."

Arthur narrowed his eyes. Alfred squinted right back. "Would you be able to make it home on your own?"

Alfred was about to wave him off, but then again...

_'Are you here to watch over me?'_

_'Something like that.'_

Alfred grinned and shook his head. "I really don't want to take any chances to kiss the sidewalk again. You mind?"

"I asked," Arthur said tersely and linked his arm under Alfred's. Alfred held his breath, waiting for those Good Feelings to run through him, but they never came. "Take your time. I'm sure you have plenty of it."

Ooh, promising. Alfred made sure to walk slow.

"There's your good deed of the day." Alfred laughed when Arthur didn't. "Thanks."

Arthur nodded. "You're welcome."

"You like playing bingo?"

"Sometimes."

Wow, good talk.

Alfred's eyes flickered to his occupied side. "I bet those old folks give you a run for your money, huh?"

"The bingo games are free to play, actually."

Alfred let out a little laugh. This guy was serious. He laughed a little harder and leaned forward when a pain seized his side. "Hm, ouch!"

"You all right?"

"Uh, yeah, I think I'll make it." Arthur squeezed his forearm, and Alfred swore he felt a little spritz run up his shoulder. "I was in a pretty rough accident, you know?"

"Really? I could have swore you were using that cane and falling all over the place just to look good."

"Hey, I still look good, all beaten up like this!"

"Ugh, hush."

The angel was definitely doing something subtle. Alfred felt warm despite the breeze nipping at his ears and nose. "I was going to the mini-market. It was downpouring," he goaded. "A car came, and..."

Arthur steadily stared at his face.

The Bonnefoy's property was just a few paces ahead. "I was lucky. I must have a guardian angel by my side."

"You believe in that sort of stuff?"

Alfred couldn't get more obvious, and yet this guy was still bluffing. Points for dignified stubbornness, he supposed. "I think as kids, we all believe in it, but some people grow up and brush it off as imaginary stuff like Santa and the Tooth Fairy. I'm not saying those are _not _real, but," he flashed a grin for his company, "some things happen too much or in a way that's too coincidental. Like how I fell and it was _you _that helped me up."

Arthur scoffed, "I didn't see any of the older folks rushing over on their walkers to help."

"But you were still in the hall. Why leave when I did?" Alfred winced as his arm stiffened. "Ah! Ouch! Come on, there's no need for that! I'm injured!"

"Yes, you are injured. You should be more careful."

"You're getting some sick kick out of this, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Damn, Antonio was right. This was _so _not necessary."

Arthur stopped walking, which wound up yanking Alfred back. "Antonio."

It wasn't a question.

Not that he would admit it aloud, but Alfred was starting to get a little concerned about his own health and wellbeing. He asked, even though he knew the answer, "You know Antonio?"

"Why would he..." Arthur turned his head away to glare at the street. "Antonio, you feather brained..."

Alfred slowly eased out of Arthur's clutch. "Yeah...I'm just going to..."

Arthur snapped his head back to him with something unnatural flashing in his eyes.

"Go home?"

"You spill one word of this-"

Alfred jabbed his cane into Arthur's foot, who yelped and jerked away. "Yeah, yeah, threats, zip it, got it. Bye." He hurried down his sidewalk, fleeing from the scowl against his back. "Ooh, shit," he whispered to himself. "Pissed off an angel. Angry angel. Angry. Angel."

He glanced behind himself, and Arthur was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

* * *

As soon as Alfred opened the front door, Matthew sprung out of the kitchen and threw his arms around him. "Alfred! You're back! You didn't trip and fall and hurt yourself, again, did you?"

"Whoa!" Alfred warned his too eager embrace, "Chill! And no, I didn't. Ha-ha."

Matthew pulled away and pushed his glasses up his nose, obviously embarrassed. "Are you okay? Where did you run off to so suddenly? And who was that guy with you?"

Alfred nodded to the kitchen and limped after the refrigerator for something to drink. "I'm great. I took a walk to the bingo hall. There was a game playing, and that's just some guy I met."

"Huh? But I thought you were meeting up with somebody."

"Yeah, that's him."

"You were in such a rush!"

Alfred really didn't like it when his brother asked all those questions. "I almost forgot to meet up with him. He is like, super punctual. I almost missed the game!" At least that part was true.

"I...oh, I like bingo."

Alfred glanced to Matthew, who was fiddling with his glasses again. "Really? Such a nerd," he teased, cracked open a bottle of water and downed half of the thing in one go. "They're always playing bingo, those old farts. You don't really want to get into _that _with them. It's like all Hell breaks loose and you have to duck under the table if you get a score!"

Matthew playfully sneered, "You hang out with old people now?"

"Yep! You know in small towns like these, everybody is a kind neighbor. That sort of thing."

"Or a deranged lunatic."

Alfred shook a finger at him in agreement. "Still trying to figure out which one. Maybe...both?"

Matthew shrugged and followed him into the living room. "Are you going to school tomorrow?"

"_Pfft, _no."

"Bastard."

Alfred leaned away from his brother plopping beside him. "Wow, ice cold, Mattie!"

Matthew grinned. "You planning anything now?"

Alfred automatically followed his glance to the TV screen. "How do you feel about getting your butt kicked in racing?"

"Ha!" Matthew grabbed for the controllers. "You should ask yourself that!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Eventually, they went to bed at like, three in the morning. Matthew was going to suffer at school that day, but at least he didn't have snapped ribs, if that made it better. It must have been around the time Alfred usually got up for school because he was starting to wake up, grumbling angrily from his own body betraying him like that. This was a chance to sleep in!

Alfred's leg kicked and hit something solid, and he wasn't facing the wall either. He shot up and snatched his glasses from the end table. "Ugh, seriously?" He told the glowing figure sitting on the edge of the bed, "We are _so _not doing this."

"Doing what?" Arthur asked.

Alfred vaguely gestured to the air, "Climbing in my window and watching me sleep like this is some kind of teen-romance vampire flick, no, just no. Look, I don't know if that's normal where you come from, but-"

"Don't flatter yourself," Arthur snorted, giving whatever he was holding a spin between his palms. "I had the intention of wiping your memory again, but I noticed how you managed to break it the first time." He sighed and shook his head, "Damn Antonio didn't make it any better either, gabbing about us like you were his afternoon tea appointment or something."

Alfred looked down to the glass jar Arthur played with. "Hey!" He leaned forward to grab it, "That's mine!"

Arthur lifted it up and held it away from him. "No, it's _mine._ How did you get this in the first place?"

"I, uh, found it."

"Where?!"

Alfred lowered himself against his pillow with a half-annoyed, half-pained moan. "I don't know, dude. Outside? It was just chilling, so I picked it up." He peeked at Arthur, who started to get this horrified look on his face. "Shedding season?"

Arthur glanced to the jar with the feather and scoffed, "Such a small, easily overlooked misfortune."

That meant he could not blame anybody but himself...and his shed-happy wings. No wonder why he was pissy.

"Aw, come on, it's not that bad!"

"How? A loud-mouthed _human_ is now well aware of what I am. Sure, all joy for you, but for us..."

"Damn. Are you always this rude? I'm not going to tell anybody!"

"Ha!" That was not amused laughter. "You say that..."

Alfred's eyes stung as he let out a big yawn. He thought of something funny. "Arthur, you're so mean." He sniffed, and put a hand to his face. "Why's my guardian angel got to be a jerk?"

"Hey!" Arthur twisted around, "Don't say that! I'm not..." His voice dropped, "Are you crying?"

Alfred, still holding his hand over his eyes, nodded, goading his company with a warbling whine, "You saved my life, and you were even at the hospital, but now you're being a jerk, and I said I was sorry, but you're still being a jerk-"

"Alfred, hush," the bed dipped as Arthur leaned closer. Cool hands wrapped around Alfred's wrists and a wonderful flood washed over him, easing the pinching in his side. "It's all right, I didn't mean to be a jerk. It's just stressful...I don't know if it would be a good idea to stick around, but..."

Alfred took his hands from his face and busted into laughter. "Gotcha, dude! You thought I was crying?"

Arthur steadily stared until his nostrils flared, and he let him go to whack the side of his head.

"Ow!" Alfred flinched and threw his hands up. "Hey, I have injuries! My head is still tender!" He opened his eyes, but there was nobody in his room. "Arthur?" Gone. He slowly sank into his blankets as the grips of pain crept back.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Alfred didn't go to school the next day _or _the next. His friends were probably missing him, but for some odd reason, he didn't concern himself with his appearance anymore. Matthew shook his head every time he had to leave the house alone, but Al insisted he 'wound up' not feeling his best to get around school, especially with a cane. Besides, it was nearing the end of the week, and there was little sense in going when there was only two days before the weekend.

Still, even for Alfred, playing video games all day for many days in a row was not as great as it sounded. Definitely not when he had glowing guys on his mind. He knew he messed up pretty bad if he pissed off his guardian angel, but Arthur never came back that night, or even peeked in to do whatever guardian angels do. Guard? Maybe he would simply 'pop up' if Al walked into the middle of the road or something.

Besides, fresh air would do him good. Yes, that's how Alfred persuaded himself to grab his cane and waddle outside. Just a casual walk. Yep. In the middle of winter and a snow flurry. Perfect for casual walks.

"Ugh, it's fucking cold," Alfred grieved his poor decision. How was he supposed to even find Arthur? He could be anywhere, and it wasn't like he would just 'bump' into him-

Alfred skittered to a stop in front of the bus stop when he registered the soft glowing in the corner of his eye. "Uh, hey." Without a reply, he glanced in Arthur's direction, who was glowering on the bench with his arms crossed. Al quickly looked away. "Ah, jeez, I-"

"Stop dawdling like a fool and get in here."

"Yes, sir," Alfred grumbled, and plopped onto the other side of the bench. The metal was cold on his butt. Another timid glance over. Arthur was still glaring into the road. "Are you, uh, chilling, or waiting for the bus, or something?"

"Something."

"You okay?"

"Don't worry about it."

Alfred sighed and hung his head. "I was joking the other night. Sort of." He laughed, but Arthur kept that pissy look on his face. "You guys really don't have a good sense of humor, do you?"

"I'm here to work, not have a sense of humor."

"It'd make it a little more bearable to laugh every now and again, wouldn't it?"

Arthur slowly turned his head in his direction, but didn't say anything else.

"Did you want to get coffee or something? Warm up?" Maybe to make up, too.

"I'm busy."

Alfred snorted. "Doing what?"

"Working."

Guarding, perhaps?

"You think you could do that with a coffee cup in your hand?"

"I don't drink coffee."

"You don't drink? You don't eat either?"

"I said I don't drink _coffee_." Arthur shook his head. "Yes, I eat."

"To make it look more natural."

"No, because I get hungry."

"You get hungry?!" Alfred balked, "I thought you were like, made out of stardust or something."

"In the beginning, we were all made out of stardust, and yet we all have to eat."

"Whoa! Is that your real body?"

"_Excuse me_?"

Alfred giggled at the way Arthur hunched up. "Is that a dead guy you're possessing or is this Arthur guy a vessel for yourself, and you have to feed him?"

"What in the world kind of question is that?!" Arthur's expression soured, and it looked like he was almost smiling. "That's...no, this is the body I was born with. You know, when someone finds out one of us is an angel, they don't ask these sorts of questions. 'Is this my real body.' _Pfft._ Ridiculous."

Alfred nonchalantly wiggled closer. "So? You wanna grab a bite to eat?"

"What, you don't have anything better to do? I'm busy."

"Better than eating? No!"

"Bothering _someone _else?"

"Nope! You're stuck with me!"

Arthur scoffed and swung one leg over the other to angle away from him. "Stuck with _you?_ Don't get so bigoted. I just have to check that you're still breathing every now and again just like all the other people I'm keeping tabs on. I can leave anytime. Idiot."

"Oh! Okay!" Alfred pushed himself to his feet and lurched toward the street. "Guess I'll have to play in this traffic by myself!"

"_No!_" A cold hand grabbed his and yanked back. "You fool! What is wrong with you?!"

A car zipped by and honked. Alfred grinned at Arthur's terror. "Not stuck with me, huh?"

Arthur ripped away and wiped his palm on his slacks. "If you only looked better as a flat pancake in the middle of the road..."

"I already tried that. Didn't really suit me. So?"

"So what?"

"How about that café just down the road?"

Arthur sighed like he was super exhausted, and hung his head, totally defeated. "You're lucky I have a few moments to spare."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Artie! Look! They have a deal on ice cream!"

"Are you kidding me? You were complaining about being cold, and now you want ice cream? That's going to make you even more cold."

"Not if I get something warm to drink with it!"

"What is with you?"

Alfred peeled his eyes from the menu to his grumpy company. "What do you mean?"

The cashier giggled, but went quiet when the pair turned to her to place their order. Before Arthur fished out his wallet, Alfred slapped money onto the counter and loudly declared, "_I'll _pay."

Arthur clocked his hip into Alfred's, knocking him away. "Absolutely not. You don't even have a job. I'll pay."

The cashier's smile weakened. Alfred held out a hand to his cane, "Yo! Beating up the injured? What's with _you_?" He elbowed Arthur when he dug around in his pockets, probably for money. "Besides, I bet being a guardian doesn't even pay that well!"

"Will you shut up-"

A man behind them snapped, "Will you _both _shut up and just pay already? I want my damn coffee."

They glared at one another, but Alfred sprung a big grin as he slid his cash across the counter. "I already have my money out."

The cashier eagerly snatched the money and ran it through. Arthur huffed and turned his nose into the air. "Little brat."

Alfred took his change and winked at the cashier. "Sorry. Thanks."

They claimed a table in front of the window, and Alfred fiddled with his chair so his company would sit down first and he could 'accidently' jab his cane into his foot. Arthur jumped and let out a sharp breath through his nose, but managed to keep his mouth shut.

The cashier called for their order, and Arthur leaped up before Alfred could move. "I'll get it."

"Oh, what," Alfred teased once he came back and put all their drinks and snacks on the table, "you got ice cream, too? What about being cold?"

Arthur snatched his bowl closer and stabbed one of the banana slices with his spoon before tossing a little smirk his way. "There are many things you don't, and will not, know about me."

Alfred rolled his eyes before grabbing his own spoon. "You're just saying that to be a jerk."

"Well, it's true."

"Just because I know your little secret, doesn't mean you have to be mean."

Arthur jabbed his sundae again, a couple of times this time. "It's not just a _little _secret. It's an enormous risk we must dutifully protect for the sake of our species and what we do-"

Alfred broke into a fake yawn. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" He smiled as his company grew red and turned his attention to his food. "Why do you think I'm going to run out and scream it to the world? You're just assuming crap now."

"Why wouldn't you?" Arthur hissed back, "An actual angel from Heaven, living right under everyone's noses? Some people would _die _just for that information to be confirmed."

Alfred shrugged, "I think you're over-glorifying yourself."

"How could you say that? I literally saved your life! I could have let you choke to death on your own blood in the middle of the street!"

"Yeah, see?" Alfred lifted a spoonful of ice cream and studied it at eye-level. "That's something only we know, and the secret wouldn't be as fun anymore if other people knew."

"You weren't supposed to know about it either."

"So why'd you do it? Why'd you save me?"

Arthur turned his gaze to the window. "That's...confidential."

Alfred popped his ice cream into his mouth and said as a-matter-of-factly, "You're a guardian angel. That's why."

"No, it's not. I'm not a guardian angel."

"Yeah, you are."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure I don't. Guy watches over town. Saves me from an accident,_ and _heals me so I don't wind up dying on the street." Alfred grinned as he watched Arthur's hands ball into fists against the table. "Hm, that kind of sounds like a..._guardian angel, _maybe?"

Arthur slowly turned his head in his direction, dipping his chin down to glower intensely. Funny enough, his ridiculously thick eyebrows brought out his green eyes, which sort of distracted Alfred from his shoddy attempts at being menacing. "Quiet. _Now._"

"Guardian...angel-" A pale hand shot up and grabbed the crook of Alfred's neck, making him squeal, "Eek! Cold fingers!"

"Good, you little brat," Arthur kept pinching, "maybe this will teach you to respect your elders!"

With one shoulder hunched against the tickle attack, Alfred drew his spoon into his sundae before smearing it across Arthur's face. Effectively, Arthur yanked away, exclaiming in shock as ice cream dropped onto the table. "Ha-ha! Maybe that'll teach you not to mess with me, old man!"

"Old man? Screw you, punk," Arthur snapped and reached for the napkins. He stopped as he smacked his lips. "Oh, that's actually...kind of good."

"Really?" Alfred welcomed himself to shovel his spoon into Arthur's ice cream. "Wow, hey! I like what you have! Wanna switch?"

After patting his face clean of any extraneous fruit chunks, Arthur nodded and made a beckoning motion. "Yes."

Alfred held his bowl away. "Tell me how old you are, first."

"Ugh!" Arthur tossed his hand at him. "Whatever, it's not _that _good."

"Seriously? Come on. Here, I'll go first. I'm eighteen!"

"I know."

"Ew!"

"Oh, shut up. I've known your family since your father moved from France."

"Dude...that's like, twenty years ago!"

"And?"

Alfred exclaimed, "You're _old!_"

Arthur ducked his head and glanced behind himself. Some of the other patrons were eyeballing their table. He scowled at Alfred with that expression that told him he would kill him but couldn't. "Two weeks is a long time for a fly, isn't it?"

Alfred hesitated, wondering if he just got burnt. "You're two weeks old?"

"No," Arthur snapped, "your brain is."

"That's better than being born yesterday, I guess!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

* * *

"So, how old are you, Arthur?"

"Can we get off that subject?"

"Only old people make a big deal out of their age, like it's some kind of secret." They were walking outside, and Arthur was ahead of Alfred, not far, but fast enough for Alfred to have to struggle on his cane while yammering, "If you're like, thousands of years old, that's actually impressive. Did you ever like, wear chain armor or get the plague?"

Arthur slowed to tilt his head back and stared at the sky. It was an almost cloudless blue. "Lord knows that it would get too dreary, even for us, if we lived that long. So, no," he lowered his gaze to Alfred, "I'm not a thousands years old, I'll give you that."

"What about nine hundred?"

"Ugh! No!"

"Eight hundred?"

"Alfred!"

"Am I getting closer?"

Arthur didn't respond.

Alfred butted his cane against the side of Arthur's shoe, which was some sort of old man loafer-style thing. "I'm taking that as a yes. You said you've been here for _twenty _years, and even if you were a kid or teenager running around, you'd be about thirty or forty in human years. You don't look bad at all for your age."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"What the Hell do you think it means?!" Alfred shook his head at Arthur's sudden offense. "I mean you don't look _old, _especially if you're hundreds of years old. You look good. Crap, I mean, like, you're mature. Some people have baby faces, and you don't! So...yeah."

Arthur eased with a little laugh. "Like you."

Alfred glanced down to the sidewalk. "Yeah..." They scuffled a bit further in silence, making sure to go slow, despite the cold breeze against their faces. Arthur's cheeks and ears were pink, despite him insisting the chill didn't bother him. "Seven hundred?"

"I do not know exactly how old I am, Alfred."

"They don't have calendars in Heaven? Kidding, of course."

"Of course." Arthur slowed, then stopped, glancing around the shops before asking, "Is there anywhere else you need to go, or will you go home _now_?"

"Are you going to escort me there?" Alfred teased before Arthur could defend himself, "You got to make sure I don't fall flat on my face again!"

"Yes, that."

They started to walk back to the houses. "Six hundred years?"

"Alfred...no. Angels have not lived that long for...a while now. It's less...imposing and let's say...easier to weave between human lives in a closer manner than before since there only seems to be more and more of your kind."

"Oh, yeah, didn't you guys use to burn people's eyes out when you tried to talk to them?"

"Not me personally, but we've tamed our spiritual side. Like I said, more easier for humans."

"How nice of you guys," Alfred remarked. "Five hundred?"

Arthur snapped, "I'm older than your grandparents, since you absolutely must know."

"Ooh!" Alfred cringed. "Old man. Old man!"

"I get it. You cannot comprehend various life expectancies in that primitive brain of yours."

"Hey! Is that like teenage-years for angels, or like, over-the-hill?"

Arthur turned his head to the road.

"It's over-the-hill."

"Not. Quite. There."

"Yet," Alfred added. "That's actually pretty cool. Did you see the first airplanes get invented? What about the World Wars? Ooh! Did you see us land on the moon? Did you ever meet an astronaut? Have you ever been to space before?"

"Oh, Lord," Arthur shook his head. Took a breath. "No. Yes. Too busy with Woodstock. Not yet. No, that would be quite the flight, though."

Alfred thought about it for a moment. "Angels were in the wars? What were they doing? Were you healing people then, too?"

Arthur stared at the road.

"Artie?"

"I've answered all your questions, Alfred. Not that one. Please, for sanity's sake, or whatever you hold dear."

"_Oh!_" Alfred tried to quiet down and let his eyes follow the lines in the concrete. "Woodstock?" He eased in, "Where you a hippie?"

"No," Arthur finally looked up at him with a sad smile, "I don't look good with long hair. It never grows out right."

Alfred laughed, "You actually told a joke."

"_Hmph_, so I did."

They crossed the street, and approached the Bonnefoy house too quickly. Alfred blurted, "We should hang out again."

Arthur stopped, scowling at the front yard. "I have enough of a headache for a week, thank you."

"Aw, come on! Take a ibuprofen and act somewhat normal for once."

"I do act normal."

"You mean watching people from the shadows and never talking to them is normal for you guys?"

"Uh, yes."

"Dude, you scream supernatural. People are probably too freaked out to talk to you." Arthur's eyes widened as Alfred asked, "Have you ever even said hello to somebody passing on the street and asked them how their day was going?"

"I have!" Arthur squawked. His eyes darted side-to-side as his tone dropped, "Just because I don't talk to people does not mean I don't know how. Idiot."

"Uh huh." Alfred glanced to his house. "Mattie's still at school, but he should be home in a few hours. Why don't you come in and you can meet him? You know, since you _can _act normal."

"I already know who he is."

"Have you ever talked to him?"

Arthur kept quiet, staring down the sidewalk.

"Look, he already knows about you, so-"

"He _what?!_"

Alfred held his hands and cane up. "Oh, I don't mean what you are-"

Arthur took a big step forward, practically getting on top of him as he growled, "Alfred...do I have to _strangle _you?"

"_Pfft, _no! Sheesh," Alfred leaned his head away, trying not to grin at an inopportune moment. "I mean, he has seen us walking together before and asked about you. Told him that were coming back from a bingo game and I, uh, like hanging out with old people now."

Arthur eased back, narrowing his eyes and jabbing a finger at Alfred's chest, "You better not be lying."

"I'm not! As long as they don't start swinging their canes and walkers at me, we're cool. Besides," Alfred tapped his cane against the sidewalk a few times, "if that happens, it'll be even."

"That's not...ugh, I mean about telling Matthew about me!"

"Oh! That! Ha-ha! Nope! I mean, no, I didn't tell him you were a...you know."

Arthur kept scowling.

"You should seriously talk to him. Trust me, Mattie gets along with everybody. He's a pretty cool guy!" Alfred leaned closer to elbow Arthur in the side, "Come on, you're not doing anything later, are you?"

"I am, actually. I have other clients to attend to besides you, thanks."

Alfred yanked away with his face scrunched. "Ew, don't call them clients."

"What? What's wrong with that?"

"It's just...weird. Too business-like. People might take it the wrong way."

"Well, that's too bad. I don't care what other people think."

Alfred lifted his free hand to wave as he turned toward his house. "Yep! Obviously!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Bye, Arthur! See you later!"

"Little brat!" Arthur snapped after him. "I'm not going to spend every waking moment looking after you."

"No duh! Don't want you to!" Alfred's foot made contact with the first porch step and he tripped forward, almost smacking face-first into the wood planks as he caught himself on his hands.

"Alfred!"

Wincing, Alfred pushed his glasses up his nose before twisting around to 'casually' relax on the steps and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't worry! I was just...chilling here for a few seconds!"

"Seriously!" Arthur pointed at him. "I'm not going to help you if you break something again!"

"Ha-ha, okay!"

Arthur took a few steps down the sidewalk before pausing to say, "I mean it! I'm not here to babysit you!"

"I get it! Bye!"

A few more steps. Another angry look. Alfred expected something else to come out, but Arthur turned his face away and hurried to who knows where to be busy. Now to get up the rest of these three little steps without eating splinters again...

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Give up already, you nasty thief!" Alfred hollered, posing his cane like a sword held out in front of him, "The good guys _always_ win in the end, so you were screwed from the start! Mwahaha!"

Alfred glanced out his bedroom window when a light shone into his room. The neighbor's kid stared out his own window, hands pressed against the glass with a face of absolute awe. He struck a heroic pose, trying not to cry as his ribs ached from all that jostling towards a poster on his wall, and nodded to the kid. The boy gasped and waved, but glanced to the side as his dad came over, stared at Alfred for a moment, before yanking the curtain shut.

"That's fair," Alfred said aloud and lowered his arms to press a hand to his side. Maybe it would be a good idea to sit. He slowly sank into his bed before tucking a pillow under his head. "We'll get him next time," he whispered to the movie character on his wall, and giggled to himself before taking a deep breath to test his ribs. "Ow."

It wasn't a good idea to pretend his cane was a super weapon, but hey, he was bored. If he just sat there, staring at the ceiling, weird things would start running through his mind. Like they were now.

Maybe if he paid Arthur fifty bucks, he would completely heal the rest of his fracture. Maybe there was an underground ring where people fought each other with cane sticks and walkers. Maybe he could sign himself and Matthew up, but then if their Dad found out, he'd rip out all his hair before moving onto theirs.

Weird.

Alfred jumped, rapidly blinking in surprise as he was starting to doze, disrupted by a rhythmic knocking. He pulled himself to sit, grabbed his cane, and huddled out his room. Somebody knocked on the door again as soon as he touched the last step, so he shouted, "Okay! I'm coming! Chill out!" much to the dismay of his lungs.

He swung open the door with a loud, "Hey!"

Arthur was on the other side, obviously shocked. "Uh, hello." He glanced Alfred up and down with a disturbed expression. "You all right?"

"Yeah! Why'd you ask?" Alfred put in before he could say anything, "You actually knocked on the door this time!"

"What else would I do?"

"Well, you, uh, kind of just...popped into my room the last time."

"Would you rather me to climb through your bedroom window and ask you to Prom?"

"Huh?" Alfred shook his head and moved away from the door to make a sweeping motion. "Get inside already, dude. It's cold."

"Is your brother home yet?"

"No, I was going to get him soon," Alfred lied, shutting the door after him. "Actually, I could go with some food. You hungry?"

Arthur slid off his old man coat with a big sigh, "You're always hungry, aren't you?" He turned to give Alfred a weird look. "Well?"

"Well what?" Alfred glanced down to see him holding out his jacket like he wanted to give it to him. "It's nice, Artie, but I don't think it'll fit me."

"Ugh! Have some manners and hang up your guest's coats, would you?"

Alfred played dumb and grabbed it. "Oh, yeah! Ha-ha!" He hustled to the downstairs storage closet as Arthur grumbled behind him that he was an idiot. He seemed to like doing that a lot, and it was starting to look like an Arthur-thing, rather than an angel-thing. "You hungry? Want me to feed you, too?"

"Look how quickly you're catching on. Yes, I would like something to eat, and I'm sure your brother would be most pleased to come home to dinner."

"Oh, yeah, totally. _Most pleased. _Dad's check didn't come in the mail yet, so I don't really have that much money to go out and buy dinner for all of us. I'm going to have to cook something."

Arthur followed him into the kitchen and stopped against the island counter as Alfred peeked inside the fridge. "Can you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Cook?"

Alfred looked over the door and laughed. "You can't?"

"I can so!"

"All right!" Some odd chord was struck right there. "We're going to have to have some chili because there's just a bunch of random stuff in here and I don't really feel like laying out a five-course meal tonight."

Arthur crept closer to eye what he was looking at. "As long as it's edible."

As if Alfred would dump whatever was in the trash bin onto the counter and tell him to eat up. Honestly, it tempted him, just to see Arthur's reaction. "Sure thing! Could you get out a big pot and a pan while I get all this junk out?"

"Of course."

"Hey! Don't turn on the stove just yet!"

"I was warming the pan so the food is ready sooner!"

"No, come on, hands off the stove. I'm going to fry up the meat, so can you put everything together in the big pot?"

"We should turn on the burner so the mix gets warm while the meat's cooking. Doesn't that make sense?"

Alfred smacked Arthur's hand away from the stove's knobs. "Chill out with the chili, okay? We don't want everything to splatter all over the place from a hot pan."

Arthur put his hands on his waist. "I don't think you know what you're doing."

"Yeah, I do! Dude, I already put everything in the pot, and you're doing more bitching than cooking. Come on!"

"Fine, we'll do it your way, and let's see where it takes us."

Alfred was hoping it'll take them to a delicious bowl of chili, but whatever. Did they just argue over how to make chili? "Once I throw that in the pot, I'm going to let it simmer and go get my bro. Make sure you watch it!"

"I will."

They were quiet as they attended their food. Alfred glanced over to eye Arthur jabbing his spatula into the sad brick of ground beef. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Where'd you go earlier?"

"Around."

"Cool." Good talk. Once everything was together, Alfred flicked the dial and went for his coat. "Just keep a good eye on that. We'll be back soon." Arthur leaned against the kitchen doorway and tipped his head as Al stopped and held up his hand.

Arthur just stared. "What?"

"Come on!"

"I thought you wanted somebody to watch the food-"

"Gimmie five! You got this!"

"Five what?!"

"For real?"

Arthur leaned away, "Stop shaking your hand in my face and go get your damn brother, idiot!"

Alfred sighed and grabbed his wrist before smacking their palms together. "See? High five!" He then smeared Arthur's hair down before throwing open the door. "See you! Idiot!"

"Ugh! You-!"

The door shut, and Alfred hobbled down the steps. Seriously, who didn't know how to high five and called other people idiots? The instructions are literally in the name! As soon as the winter night slapped his cheeks, Alfred groaned, "Fuck winter!"

Of course, the cold didn't appreciate this, and bit at his exposed nose and ears. Maybe he should have grabbed another coat from the closet, or maybe even asked Arthur to get his brother, but the house was already all the way ten feet behind him.

Based on the hours plated to the bookstore's front window, it was a bit too early for Matthew's shift to end, but there was hardly anybody walking around anymore, let alone to buy books. They'll survive if Alfred pulled him out. He whooped at the warm air enveloping him as soon as he opened the door. This bothered the cashier, Lovino, or maybe that was just his face.

"Hey!"

"What."

"It's freaking cold out there!"

Lovino said, "No shit. It's winter."

"Ha-ha, that's true. Are Mattie and Antonio around?"

"Matthew's right down there if you looked. Toni...Antonio is gone for the night."

Gone, as the angels usually and vaguely are. Alfred lingered by the counter, wondering if Lovino knew what his boss really was.

"Was there something else?"

Alfred shook his head and grinned. "No, that's all. Thanks!"

"Wait," Lovino said. Alfred stopped and hovered back to the counter. "What the Hell were you two talking about all secret-secret the other day, huh? It better not been about me or anything-"

"Dude!" Alfred laughed. "Why would it be about you?" Lovino shook his head angrily. "It wasn't, so don't worry. But I can't tell you. Like you said, secret-secret!"

Lovino glared with the fury of a thousand suns.

Alfred shrugged and unzipped his jacket before lifting his shirt. "I was in an accident the other day! Look! A car hit me!"

"Ew! Don't be fucking stripping in front of me! In a damn bookshop, no less. The fuck?"

Alfred glanced down. The splotch on his side still looked bad, a deep purple. It was kind of gross, but other than that, his body wasn't gross. Lovino didn't know what he was talking about. "Do you usually talk to people like that?" He cackled as he zipped up his jacket again. "No wonder you guys don't get much business!"

Lovino didn't laugh.

"Alfred!"

Alfred spun around and put on a big smile for his brother emerging from between the bookshelves and held out an arm for a hug. "Heya, Mattie! What's up! What'cha doing?"

Matthew stopped and gave him one of those annoyed looks. "Working?"

"Right," Alfred jerked away and nonchalantly stuffed his hand in his pocket. Lovino snorted from behind him. "So, um, I was wondering if I could pull you out of work early."

Oh, the horror on Matthew's face, as if Alfred asked for a kidney! "Why?! What happened?" He glanced to Lovino, then back to Alfred. "What did you do-"

"Chill out! I just got to show you something!"

"Show me something? Can't you show me now so I can get back to work?"

"What, for thirty minutes? Come on, it's at home."

Matthew activated his stern librarian mode on Alfred, who was just another hooligan in his shop, by sharply sighing with a nasty shove to his glasses, "Let me get this straight. You want to pull me out of work to go home and look at something that you can't even wait a few minutes for me to get off my shift?"

Lovino snapped, "Just go! We're aren't getting any business tonight."

"Great!" Alfred tapped his cane on the hardwood floors before tapping Matthew's sneaker. "Get your apron off, Mattie!"

As soon as they stepped into the frosty air together, and Matthew called his goodbyes to his grumpy coworker, Alfred latched onto his coat, which was still warm from being inside all day. "Got you off a half hour early! Your welcome, bro!"

"Yeah, wow, a whole half hour. So, what's the big deal?"

Alfred squeezed Matthew's arm. "Just you wait! It's awesome. You're going to love it."

Warm, fresh dinner as soon as he gets in the door, who wouldn't love that? Not to mention an actual angel waiting for them to get home. In his side vision, Matthew turned his head towards him with an irked look. "Why are you whispering like that? With the way you are acting, it makes me think you brought a polar bear into the house!"

Surely a polar bear would have a kinder bite than Arthur, but hopefully, Arthur wasn't chewing on anybody. Was he? Alfred tried to get his thoughts on track, "I don't want to ruin it!"

Matthew bemoaned his life, but other than that, he kept quiet. Alfred snuggled closer to his brother, taking a page out of his book to quietly focus on getting home. The wind was not kind, the night was not quiet, and the dark clouds looming over the roof tops did not say good things for the forecast. Alfred tried to pick up the pace, ignoring the twinge in his side.

Something wasn't right. Those clouds were too dark and close. Alfred jerked on Matthew's arm. "Wait." They zoned on the only house with the lights still on; their house. Smoke poured out of the kitchen window, and the closer they got, the louder the smoke alarms screeched.

"Is this your surprise?!" Matthew shouted, "Burning the house down?!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

* * *

"Shit!" Alfred pulled away from Matthew (who simply stared at the smoke rising into the night air), dropped his cane on the ground, and ran toward their house. Maybe it looked a lot worse than it really was. _Hopefully _it looked a lot worse than it really was.

Alfred flung himself into the front door as if it would understand his panic, and he clawed at the handle when it didn't open fast enough. He stumbled into the cloudy hall, wheezing for breath as the smoke filled his lungs against his cracked ribs. "Arthur!" He flinched at the smoke alarm above his head, and forced himself into the kitchen, deeper into the dark haze.

The source of it all was that damn pot of chili on the stove. "Fucking...Arthur!" Alfred tried yelling again, but shook his head and hurried to the other kitchen window that wasn't open yet. He threw it open, stuck his head out, and took a swig of cold air, giving aid to his lungs. Matthew flapped his arms, still on the sidewalk, and gave him a 'WTF is going on?' look.

Alfred just shook his head, took another deep breath despite his bodily protests, and dove back into the fray. "Arthur?!" The angel wasn't on the ground or even in the kitchen, so he turned to the stove with a sleeve over his nose and mouth. The burner was still lit, so he plunged his arm over the pot and flicked it off before moving the pot onto a cool burner. Black gunk covered the handles and his jacket, and he gave his sleeve a disgusted shake.

Arthur busted into the room, a plastic bowl in hand, filled with water jostling all over the place. He stopped, staring wide eyed at Alfred. "Th-the kitchen sink was too close to the-"

"Don't go throwing that on here!" Alfred turned to snatch the pot's lid and put it in place. "There, don't worry about it! Dump that water out!"

"But-"

Alfred pushed by Arthur, tapping his back in cheap reassurance as he ran out of the kitchen. "Try to turn off the alarms!" He practically bumped into Matthew, who made his way into the doorway.

Both coughed and squinted past the smoke, and Alfred tried to give him a nod to say it was all okay, but Matthew snapped, "Seriously?! I don't even know what to say to you right now!"

Alfred shook his head, "It's just a bit of smoke, Mattie! Everything's fine-"

"Everything is _not _fine! You call this a little bit of smoke?!" Matthew's eyes jumped around and he clutched his head, "Did a fire break out?!"

"No, no! Nothing like that! There was just-"

Arthur dropped something in the kitchen, and the twins' gazes locked onto one another. Matthew sucked air through his teeth, "What was that."

Alfred glanced to the kitchen, and slowly backed away with a hand raised, "Stay there, will you? Just for a sec?" He didn't wait to see if Matthew did, and ducked into the kitchen.

Arthur picked the now empty plastic bowl off the ground and set it on the counter. "Alfred! How do I-"

"It's all right!" Alfred grabbed two dishtowels from the cabinet and handed one to Arthur. He raised his arm and swished his rag beneath the alarm. "Try to guide the smoke out the window!"

Arthur coughed into his sleeve, and flapped his arm aimlessly into the air. What was Alfred thinking, assuming that a century old angel could keep a pot of chili under control? One of the alarms by the stair case shut off - Matthew must have gotten sick of it and ripped it from the ceiling.

"Alfred!" He hollered from the other room.

The kitchen alarm finally turned off, beeped for a little again until Alfred waved his towel at it. "Okay, let the wind do the rest." He smiled and nodded to Arthur as he tossed his rag onto the counter. "Come on, didn't I tell you that you're going to meet my brother?"

Arthur coughed again and flapped his hand in front of his face. "If I knew under these circumstances..."

"I know, let's go." Alfred guided him out the kitchen, which wasn't hard, since Arthur was a walking glow stick against the smoke. "Mattie!" He held a hand out to his company. "This is part of the surprise I was telling about! My friend, he was, uh, making dinner for us..."

"Dinner?" Matthew raised his eyebrows, and looked to Arthur. "Friend?"

Arthur cleared his throat and held a hand out despite his eyes still watering. "You must be Matthew. Just call me Arthur."

Matthew stared at the guy for a long moment, before slowly nodding. Alfred scrunched his face as his brother didn't shake Arthur's outstretched hand, and Arthur took it back with a confused glance to between the two. "Yeah, that's me," Mattie murmured, and looked to his feet as if they were doing all the talking. "Uh...are you the one that plays bingo with Alfred?"

Arthur let out an amused scoff. "Yes." A spritz of numbness ran up Alfred's arm as he turned to him. "Bingo man."

Alfred breathlessly laughed, mostly because of the smoke. "Cool, you guys. Sorry about the, uh...mess, but hey, dinner's ready! Right, Artie?"

"Yes, it should be done cooking by now."

It was well and beyond done cooking. Still, they went back into the kitchen, and Alfred eyed the gunk-covered pot on the stove. He didn't have much time or thought to fully comprehend what the Hell happened to his eagerly-awaited supper, but here it was. He picked up a plastic spoon to prod at the blackened...whatever he wanted to call it, and stirred it around to find any resemblance to the old ingredients.

Arthur hovered close, and Alfred tried to keep horror or disgust from his face. He pursed his lips in curiosity, and he could tell the guy was gazing up expectantly from the cold itch creeping up his neck. "Yeah, it's done cooking, all right."

Matthew took one look into the pot and pulled away with a disturbed grunt. "Oh, cool, y-you made dinner. How nice."

Arthur said, "Thank you, Matthew. There's enough for an army, so take as much as you want."

By the look on his face, Matthew didn't want _any_. He still managed to put on a kind smile, "Thanks, but I actually ate at work. Antonio bought us pizza."

Alfred wondered if that was a lie; his brother was actually good at lying. Arthur totally bought it, nodding and asking Al if he could give him a bowl. He definitely expected him to eat some, though, and he said his goodbyes to everything he knew and loved as they settled beside one another at the island counter with bowls of gunk.

"I wonder why it is called chili," Arthur said. He picked up a spoonful of 'chili' with a little smile, but his nose slightly crinkled as he let it splatter back into the bowl. It was pretty hard for Alfred to lose his appetite, but this may have been it. "In the end, it comes out rather hot."

Alfred snorted, eager to be done with all this panic and intensity between everybody. "Yeah, that is weird!" Unthoughtfully, he stuck his spoon in his mouth, and froze. Matthew picked up his head from gazing into the fridge. It was awful. So, so awful. There was no way around it. There was no way to keep it from his face. He gulped, stomach quivering in fear as the grossness ran down his throat. Arthur was watching him. Death was upon Alfred's head.

"Arthur, what the fuck happened to our chili?"

A zap of goose bumps ran across his skin as Arthur bristled. "It's a little burnt! So what?! You can still eat it!"

"All you had to do was watch and make sure it didn't boil over! How did you even..." Alfred couldn't piece together how Arthur plus a pot of calm simmering food equaled total disaster. "A _little_ burnt?"

Arthur shoved his bowl from himself and crossed his arms. "I may have turned it up too much. So what? I told you not letting it warm up while the meat was cooking was a bad idea! It would have never gotten done by the time you came home!"

"So you almost burn our house down?!"

Matthew loudly closed the fridge door and ran out of the kitchen. Good timing, too - Arthur grabbed Alfred's ear and yanked super hard on it. "How about saying thank you for once?! Even if it didn't turn out good, I didn't have to help you cook dinner!"

"Ow! Ow!" Alfred reached for his cane, but remembered he left it outside while he was freaking out about the near-fire. So, he grabbed the closest thing in self-defense before his ear was ripped off his head; a spoonful of burnt chili. _Thwap!_

Immediately, Arthur flinched and exclaimed in disgust as he got a taste of his own brew splattering over his face and down his tacky sweater. He shook his hands and spat chunks of grossness out, screeching, "Alfred! Seriously!"

"Yeah, seriously! What are you trying to do, kill me?!"

Arthur shot off his stool, grabbing his bowl and before Alfred could react, there was almost unbearably hot goo pouring down his hair and face. Alfred registered what was dripping into his mouth and gagged, flapping his hands and quickly peeling off his glasses, but it was too late for them. He would be scrubbing 'chili' from the crevices for days. Let alone the crevices of his taste buds.

"Trust me," Arthur seethed behind him, "if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead."

Alfred spat out black chunks, trying to resist the urge to swipe the goo off his lips. He slowly rose to his feet as warm gunk dripped onto the counter and floor, but didn't turn around to see Arthur elating in his victory. "Arthur."

"What now, brat?"

Alfred shot an arm out, hooking around the back of Arthur's neck and yanked him closer. Arthur's arms flailed as he snatched his bowl and smothered it into his face, making black sludge pour down his chin and onto the floor. "Talk about a taste of your own medicine, huh?" Al set that bowl on the counter and grabbed the other one as his catch jerked his head back and spat out the 'chili.'

"Alfred, you fucking-" Whatever Arthur tried to say was drowned out by his own furious hollering beneath another onslaught of disgusting goop.

"Ah, there we go! All better!" Alfred set Arthur's bowl down and patted his 'chili' soaked head before letting him go.

Arthur stumbled backwards, shaking his hands in shock and fury before wiping some gook from his eyes. "Look at what you done!"

"Are you kidding?" Alfred snorted and pointed a finger to the stove, "Don't make me get the pot!"

Arthur swiped some goo from his chin and flung it at him. Alfred flinched and a little squeak _may _have came out as the grossness splattered on his cheek. He lunged forward, taking a heaping plop from his hair and held out his hand to smother it onto Arthur's face, unable to help grinning. "Get back here!"

Arthur quickly ducked under his arm and smacked his back, probably smearing more gross all over him. "You utter moron, look at all of this!"

Alfred turned around and looked around the floor. There was a lot of black within a five foot radius. It was bad, man. He may have to drag the hose into here. They both looked at one another smeared in slop and laughed. "Aw, where'd Mattie go? He'd probably faint if he saw all of this!"

"Upstairs, I suppose." Arthur wiped some grossness from his cheeks, hesitated, and then, a freaky wide grin sprung across his face.

Alfred instinctively took a step back. "Uh, what."

Arthur held out his gunk-covered hands and reached for him.

"Ew, ew, no! I got enough stuff on me! Eek! Arthur!"

"Get back here, you brat!" Arthur chased him around the island counter. "I'm not done with you yet!"

They weaved side-to-side, locked eye to eye as they mirrored one another. Alfred pointed a finger from the other side of the counter, "Your cooking is as terrible as your eyebrows!"

"Do you know how many rude people I've come across in my life? _You _take the cake. Congratulations."

"I rather have some cake than whatever _this _is!"

"Urg! You!" Arthur charged around the counter.

Alfred cackled in delight as he ran the other way, but yelped as Arthur suddenly materialized in front of him in a bright snap. His feet slid out from under him, arms flailing, and he hit the floor with a hard thump.

Arthur gasped, "Alfred!"

"Ow..." Alfred managed to wheeze before a sharp pain stabbed his side. He sucked in air, but that only made it worse.

Arthur knelt next to him in the puddles of their desecrated dinner and put his hands on his side. "Alfred, you bloody idiot, your damn injury! What did I tell you?!"

_"_Please_...ow._ Help. I'm sorry." A flood of Good Feelings knocked all the bad ones away, and Alfred tipped his head back and may have let out an embarrassingly loud noise of relief, "Oh, that's so good!" He turned his blurry sight onto Arthur's glowing figure, uneasily smiling, but Arthur had his face angled to his injury. "Thanks."

"You refractured your bones! What in the world were you thinking, roughhousing like that?! You're lucky I'm even fixing it again!"

Alfred decided not to mention that Arthur antagonized that roughhousing, simply glad that the ache in his side wasn't hurting anymore. "Yeah, guess I am lucky." He swiped a palm through Arthur's hair and shook the goo from his fingers that came out of it. "And you look freaking gross, dude."

Arthur scoffed, "Look who's talking."

"We're going to need like, ten showers to even get the stench off!"

"Hey!" Arthur planted his palms on Alfred's chest as he tried to pull himself up. "Easy! Do you want it to be healed correctly or not?"

They both jumped when somebody knocked on the door, and stared stupidly at one another, obviously confused until the visitor knocked again. Alfred lightly pushed Arthur away as he grabbed the closest stool to help himself to his feet. His side only pinched a little. "I'll get it."

"But you're covered-"

Alfred went into the main hall, and the visitor knocked _again_. Apparently, he only had milliseconds to cross his own house. He opened the front door, startling the small group formed on his porch. "Uh...what's up?"

Of course the small town had its nosy neighbors, and this was their entertainment of the week. All the old people stared at him, or more like the burnt goo dripping onto the floor. "Young man...there was smoke coming out of your house. Is everything okay?"

"You're covered in..." A lady shook her head, struggling to describe what kind of creature Alfred looked like. He wasn't looking forward to seeing himself in a mirror.

Alfred nodded and put on a big grin, "Yeah! It's all good!"

"Son, you don't look good."

"The fire alarm was going off and everything! I saw the smoke!"

Alfred said, "We all saw the smoke." He grabbed the door knob and swung the door side-to-side like he wanted to close it. "It's all good, though. My friend doesn't know how to cook. That's all!"

"Is your father home?"

Alfred almost grabbed some gunk off his body and flung it at his neighbors and their clean pajamas and their condescending tones. "He's in Europe, so don't go calling the police or whatever, all right? Everything's good! Bye!" He slammed the door shut, and stared for a few moments, straining to hear the muffled murmurs of concern on the other side. He decided to flick the lock and crept into the kitchen.

"Artie!" Alfred whisper-yelled to the glowy figure at the other side of the room. "Close the windows and put the curtains down!"

Arthur hunched to a defensive crouch from all the sneaky business. "What, why? What's going on?"

"Nosy neighbors. I don't want their faces peeking in our windows!"

Arthur was probably rolling his eyes as Alfred snuck to the living room to make sure the blinds were covering the windows. The house's rear door did not have a curtain, or anything to cover it, so just locking the door knob would have to do. It was bad enough that some people mosey into their yard to peek at his father working on his books, but now there was an almost fire?

"I'm probably going to be hearing all about it next time I go to school."

"I'll have to sneak out then," Alfred jumped as Arthur's voice was right behind him. Apparently, Arthur was used to sneaking behind people and didn't even react. "The neighbors may be keeping their eyes on your house for the rest of the night."

"You could use our showers. We have one in the bathroom right here, and maybe...I could lend you some clothes for the time being?"

Arthur smiled and shook his head. "Thank you, but there is no need. Go clean yourself off, and I'll take care of myself. I'll be back in a few."

"But how-" There was a light _whoosh _against his face, and Arthur was gone. "Holy crap. How did he do that?!"

Hopefully the neighbors didn't catch that.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

* * *

When Alfred was done scrubbing himself three times over, the shower drain looked like some kind of gremlin popped into the bathtub and retched this awful black goo all over the place. That mess in the kitchen however...

That was a completely different saga. Alfred grabbed his spare glasses because the old ones had gotten soiled, and hurried downstairs before Matthew would come out and implode from the mess. He stopped in the doorway between the kitchen and main hall, taking a long moment to stare at the smears and puddles of blackened chili all over the island counter, the stools, the stove, the floor, in a giant circle around the island counter, _everywhere._

Alfred would honestly not blame Arthur if he didn't come back to help clean up, although he would be admittedly irritated. "I don't even know where to start." If he trudged through the gunk, he'd wind up tracking it throughout the room even more. He was seriously considering just hauling the garden hose inside and just letting loose.

"What are you standing there for?" Arthur snuck up on him again. "We have a enormous mess to clean up."

Alfred slowly turned around, feeling the hopelessness weighting on his shoulders, but at least they both were clean and looking nice with new clothes. "Hey, Artie? Would you happen to be able to use your angel jazz to blitz this out of here?"

Arthur lifted his chin and almost smiled. "Absolutely not. We acted like fools, made a mess like fools, so we must take responsibility." He shook his head and went into the kitchen, deeper into the mess. "Lord, didn't your father ever teach your manners?"

"Uh..."

"Forget I said that. Go get a mop, or scrub brush, or something!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

It took at least an hour between the both of them to wipe off every crevice of the counter, scrub the hardened gunk off the stove, wipe down the sides of the counters and cabinets, the stools, and even the _ceiling. _They had fun wondering which one of them did it. Of course Arthur insisted Alfred managed something like that, and Alfred thanked him, which only seemed to tick him off, but in a fake angry way, if that made sense. It must have been angel humor.

Alfred left the pot, the source of it all, to 'soak' in the sink to deal with later, or maybe Matthew would scrub it eventually. He looked around, and the kitchen never looked as pristine as it did at that moment. "Wow, I'm really impressed."

Arthur nonchalantly drew up to him with his arms crossed and a blank expression that Alfred couldn't make out. "You're welcome."

Alfred grinned and held up a hand.

"What?"

"Gimmie five! For teamwork!"

Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes before relenting and tapping their palms together. "Yes, teamwork," he admitted sourly.

"Great! Let me put the mop away." Alfred hurried to the closet, but stopped as he felt a twinge against his side. "Oh, Artie? I left my cane outside in the yard. Could you grab it for me?"

"I'm not your errand boy."

"Please?"

"Of course."

Alfred laughed to himself. Usually when people 'hang out,' they watch TV or shop and walk leisurely, not hurl their burnt dinner at one another. He wouldn't have it another way; that spark of excitement in the grump's eye made Alfred feel like stars were dancing on his insides. Maybe it was silly, to pretend to contribute to the 'bigger picture,' but dang, it felt good to make an angel feel good.

Something light grazed Alfred's back as he tossed the cleaning supplies back into the closet. He gasped and whirled around. Arthur held a hand up, and in his other, held the cane. "Easy. Here."

"Thanks," Alfred took it and tapped it on the hardwood floors a few times. He felt like he didn't really need it anymore, but it was cool to carry around. He looked up, and Arthur was staring again. "Are you going to stay a little bit?"

Arthur shifted like his sweater was itchy. "Did you _not _want me to leave just yet?"

"Huh? Oh, I figured you had stuff to do." Alfred smiled and pressed the end of his cane against Arthur's shoe. "You know, like you always act like you do."

"It's late," Arthur grew snippy and pulled his foot away. "Most people are home behaving themselves, so there is nothing really to do. Just in case you were planning on getting into trouble. That's why I asked. Not that I wanted to stay."

Alfred stretched his arm out to squish Arthur's other shoe. "You're not really an angel. You're just a drabby old man on the inside, aren't you?"

"What?! _Drabby_ old man?!" Apparently it was possible for Arthur's face to get more red as he balled his hands into fists. "If you weren't hurt, I'd..."

"You'd what? Make me hurt? That seems a little counterproductive for a guardian angel."

"I'm not a guardian angel!"

Something thumped above their heads, and resonated across the ceiling, enough to make the knick-knacks on the wall shelves shudder. They glanced to one another, and Alfred asked, "Was that you?"

Arthur looked confused. "No?" His eyes went wide, and he whispered, "Matthew."

"Wait!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's arm when he went to run upstairs. "I'll go see what he's up to. He'd probably freak out if you were in his room. Stay here."

"Call me right away if there's anything strange."

Alfred was bewildered at Arthur almost running upstairs to _his _brother, but laughed anyway. "He's probably sleepwalking again. Stop freaking."

"Hmph!"

"Wacko-angel," Alfred muttered to himself as he pushed himself up the stairs. He stopped by Matthew's bedroom door, expecting to hear more sounds of his brother freaking out, but it was quiet. He reached for the door knob, straining to hear.

"Fuck it," Alfred whispered and threw open the door, readying his cane to smack anything. "Mattie!"

Matthew wasn't there, and the only sign of his presence was a book lying randomly on the floor next to his bed. Alfred lowered his 'weapon' with a little, "Mattie? Oh no..." Realization struck him; "The ghosts really got him this time!"

"Uh, I'm down here, Al."

Alfred twitched and spun around, taking an unbalanced step backwards. Matthew sat on the ground, his back against the same wall his door was, so it was easy to miss him, all right? "Whoa, what's up? Or should I say...what's down?!" Al snickered at his joke, but Mattie didn't seem to find the same humor and just shook his head.

"No, seriously," Alfred held a hand for his brother, who grabbed a bit too tightly. "Why are you chilling on the floor, like, right next to your door? That's a bit creepy!"

Matthew yanked away and stuffed his hands underneath his armpits. He looked angry, but when he tried to speak, nothing really came out. "I...it's nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Alfred said as Matthew plopped on his bed. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Matthew said quickly and glanced away, making it obvious he wasn't. "Is that guy still here?"

"Arthur? Yeah, why?"

"Just wondering."

"You don't really like him, do you?"

Matthew turned toward him with a weird look. "I just met him."

That's true. Alfred couldn't hold their mediocre meeting against either one of them, given the circumstances they were under. "Me too, honestly," he laughed uneasily. "It seems like he's a big grump in a little guy, huh? But there's definitely more to him. It'd be lame if there wasn't, right?"

"Al," Matthew squinted and tipped his head, apparently not finding any humor in the situation. "You didn't meet him for the first time at the bingo hall, right? There was something else..."

"Oh, yeah," Alfred forgot that Matthew had his noggin zapped, too. "It was during my accident. Remember? It was all crazy, and...he pushed me out of the way, so I didn't get ran over." He held his hands up and shook them. "Yay?"

"Really? That's how you two met? And now you play bingo together?"

Alfred smiled and nodded.

Matthew just sat there, a bit too unresponsive. Maybe he didn't believe it. Well, it wasn't the whole truth, so Alfred didn't blame him. If he spilled the wrong beans to his brother when he had no idea what was going on supernatural-wise, Arthur would go around zapping their brains out like he did before. It was bad enough being on thin ice from just _knowing._

"You've been acting weird lately," Matthew interrupted Alfred's internal chewing. "Saying weird things. I know when you're keeping a secret."

Alfred shook his head in disbelief. "What?"

"Don't play dumb. You can see it, too, can't you?"

"Um...see what?"

"The glowing!"

Alfred flinched, almost telling Mattie to keep his voice down, but decided to bite his tongue. "What are you talking about?"

Matthew furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't...? Oh!" He dropped his gaze to his lap. "Sorry, I just," he vaguely gestured with a hand, "had a really weird dream, and the smoke's still in my head."

"No, wait!" Mattie was bluffing, and the both of them were tentatively stepping around one another, trying to tell the other what they know, but did not know if the other knew, and knew that they could not know if they did not know! Alfred's head felt like it squeezed itself a bit from that. "How'd you break through?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember my accident?"

"Uh, yeah, you broke your ribs! How could I forget!"

"Well, there's something to it that you're forgetting!"

"What? What is it then?"

Alfred wouldn't say it aloud.

Matthew started to get pissy, "Alfred!"

Alfred shook his head, begging for Matthew to think.

"Oh!" Matthew almost sprung from his bed. There he goes, thinking. It was almost always good when Matthew thought. "You said that there was some guy that..._pushed _you?" His eyes widened as he gasped, "Was that Arthur?"

"Dude, yes!"

"He was the one that touched you and you felt better?"

"Yes! How did you remember?!"

"Wha...I don't know. I just...do! So you definitely see his glowing!"

"No! Wait, yeah, I do, but we both lost that whole chunk of time when I was in the hospital. I remember, but how did you break through it?"

"I-I don't know."

"Do you remember when at least?"

"A few days ago, I think, definitely after you got out of the hospital..." There was a shift in Matthew's expression. "Wait...I was going through Dad's shed. There was something on the wall, like a painting-"

"Alfred!" Arthur called. "Is everything all right up there?"

The brothers gawked at one another, afraid and excited at the same time. Alfred forced a coherent reply, "Yeah! It's all good!"

"Well, are we doing something, or am I going to have to go home?"

Alfred hurried to the door to shout down the hall, "No! I'm coming! Hold on!"

"Al!" Matthew called.

Alfred glanced over his shoulder, and swished a hand, whisper-yelling, "We'll talk about this later!" When Matthew started to dissent like he seemed to like doing, Al ducked out of the room, insisting, "Later, Mattie!"

Arthur popped out of the living room and propped himself on the doorway as Alfred purposely went down the stairs really slow with his cane. "Is everything all right?"

Alfred kept his eyes focused on the steps. "Yeah! Mattie had a funny dream and rolled off his bed! That guy, I tell you." He giggled, stepped down from the last stair, and poked Arthur in the chest, "Are _you _all right?"

"What, of course!" Arthur swatted him away. "Why would I not be?"

"I don't know. Sore back?"

"Ugh! Shut up!"

Alfred laughed and pinched Arthur's side to make him yelp. "So, what are we doing? Want to watch TV?"

"Whatever. There's probably nothing good playing right now." Arthur smacked his hand away when he came after him again.

"Did you just want to go home, then? It's kind of getting late. Probably past your bedtime."

Arthur shot out and smacked the back of Alfred's head before going into the living room. "No, I'm sure we can find something."

Damn it. There were things Alfred wanted to investigate and talk about with his brother and _just _with him, just in case Arthur angel-sensed something suspicious, and planned to zap their mind meats again. Alfred cheered like he was excited about Arthur's choice and eagerly flopped on the couch before the old geezer could sit.

"Excuse you, do you mind?"

Alfred picked up his head, almost staring right into his non-existent butt. "Nope!"

"Obviously not," Arthur said, and went for the recliner.

"Hey!" Alfred pulled himself to sit and patted the cushion beside himself. "Come on! There's some room over here!"

Arthur rolled his eyes and settled on the couch with a grumble, "Making me get up again."

"Sucks for you, old man." Alfred reached for the remote and started paging through the channels, but nothing seemed promising. "There's nothing on. I don't know what you're expecting."

"Wait," Arthur snatched the remote from his hand and flicked back a few channels. "Ah, I thought so."

"Seriously? Arthur, no."

"What? What's wrong with antique auctions? Nothing better is on at this time of night."

"_Antique auctions?!_" Alfred hunched over and wheezed. "You are an antique, dude!"

Arthur cuffed the back of his head again. "It's either this or the weather channel, brat, so make your choice."

"Why don't I turn on the console and we can play like, racing games?"

"Haven't you raced around enough today?" That nasty swat became a calm drag down Alfred's back, shooting his spine full of little tingles. "Why don't you relax for once and see that it is not a bad thing to do?"

Alfred let out a dramatic sigh, and leaned back against the couch, a little closer to encourage those gentle touches. "Okay, we'll see just how great your auctions are."

During the middle of the episode, Arthur chuckled when a woman gestured to some kind of painting. Alfred leaned forward, giving him a 'WTF' look until he calmed down and swished a hand in the air. "She completely butchered that translation. Look, even the auctioneer can't hide it!"

Alfred glanced to the TV, but it was just a couple of people gesturing to a picture frame. With a shrug, he slung his arm along the back of the couch, ultimately pressing closer to Arthur, but he kept his eyes on the screen. At least until Alfred poked his cheek. "I'm bored. I don't get old man humor."

Like a button, that brought back the scowling. "Of course you don't. It is old man humor after all."

Old man humor, old man get-up, seriously, who pulls off tacky green sweater vests anymore? Arthur had the ability to fly anywhere, to be anything, and he chose to be that strange shadow in a small, bland town to do his work. "Hey," Alfred nudged his shoulder. "If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?"

Arthur seemed taken back from the question, or maybe they were a bit too close. "W-well, I would be having a nice, hot cup of tea, but you don't have any in your cabinets. I already had a peek."

"Of course you did." Alfred snorted and looked to the TV again. Worse now; commercials were running. "No, I mean, like, if you wanted to be a rock star, or a doctor-"

"There are some angels masquerading as such. Need to have variety, after all."

"Yeah, but what would _you_ be doing?"

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows together and gave a little shake of his head. "Same thing as I always been doing. I have duties to the Lord-"

"Nah! I mean if you _didn't_!"

"I don't understand."

"Like, if you were just an ordinary person, or maybe even had a bunch a free time, what'd you do with yourself? You look like the kind of guy that would buy a private island."

Arthur scoffed and turned his head away. "I have everything I need. I do my job. Why would I do anything else?"

"Uh, to _enjoy _yourself?"

"Unlike you humans, I am not here to enjoy myself."

Alfred made a bunch of faces before Arthur turned his gaze back to him again. He put on a little smile, "Are you enjoying yourself now?"

Arthur just blinked. Maybe Alfred broke something. A hand flew up and pinched the crook of his neck, making him double over and squeak. Arthur pressed closer, squeezing a bit harder as he hissed into Alfred's ear, "I think you talk too much."

"Eek! You creep!" Alfred tried to swat behind himself, but jumped as Arthur grabbed his side. "Hey! Hee-hee-hee! Stop it! I have broken ribs!"

"Oh, tough. That's not even the side that was injured."

"Creeper angel!"

"Little brat!"

"Stop it!" Alfred elbowed Arthur, and it was like jabbing into bone, but at least Arthur's freaky tickle attacks retreated.

"Ouch! Watch it! You practically jarred my lung."

Alfred shoved Arthur's shoulder, but may have shoved too hard, and Arthur went reeling against the side of the couch with an aggravated yell. He was lighter than Al thought. "Do you even have lungs in there?"

"Ugh! What else would be in here?"

"Ice?"

"Urgh, you-" Arthur lunged forward to latch onto the crook of Alfred's neck again.

"Hey! Ha-ha, stop it! Come on," Alfred grabbed his cool fingers to pry them away from him. "Watch your damn auctions like a behaved elderly person, would you?"

Arthur smacked the back of his head again before flopping down to a somewhat-relaxed position. He leaned against Alfred's arm, but Alfred didn't mention it. "Maybe you should go to bed on time like a good little boy, hm?"

"Yeah, but I'm not. Besides, I'm waiting for you to pass out, sitting up like an old person."

Arthur shrugged. "You'll be waiting for a while then."

* * *

_A.N.- Confession..._

_It may be obvious, but I really, really like it when Alfred jabs his cane into people's feet. Canes are so practical for jabbing feet. Also for walking, but that's beside the point._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

* * *

Alfred wound up falling asleep first. Wait, he remembered? He threw off his blankets before his eyes were even fully open and stumbled away from his bed. His side was still a bit sore, but he could stand on his own two feet. He was in his bedroom, but didn't remember how he got there from the couch.

He was outside. It was downpouring. A car came. He was lucky. Arthur saved him. Good, he remembered everything. That meant Arthur didn't suspect anything from Alfred and Matthew's new revelations, and didn't zap their heads again while they were sleeping!

It was very early; the sun was about to come up. Alfred had to get ready for school. He slouched his shoulders as he looked out his window, into the back yard, and broke into a long yawn. He'd have to deal with teachers cramming mountains of homework down his throat to make up for lost time despite being in a horrible accident, and all those people would be wondering where he was and what happened...

Alfred shrugged, and decided he finally had to get ready. Maybe, he could talk real stuff again with his brother between some classes, but definitely not in the morning. Since Matthew was going to work after school the next few days, that left very little time and energy to investigate these new, strange things they were uncovering.

Just in case they could be found by anybody like their Dad, or even Arthur, texting secrets was out of the picture, too. What if the government or somebody else got a hold of all that talk about angels?

Alfred had jeans on by then, so that was good progress. While frozen waffles were in the toaster, he peeked out into the hall and gazed out the rear door. He squinted at the thin blanket of snow on the ground. That meant it was cold and frosty, and it was bad enough that he had to walk to school in it, so peeking in the shed would have to wait for some other time.

Then again, it could have something to do with how Matthew got his memory of Arthur back. Maybe Arthur left something in there, too. Alfred jumped when the toaster popped from the other room, and hurried to get his waffles.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Alfred, my man!"

"Al! We thought you like, died!"

"Where have you been?"

"You missed the funniest thing the other day..."

First period. Alfred was expecting something from his school buddies, but the crowd bunching around him as soon as he walked in his first classroom door was something else. Even the teacher's gaze lingered on him as the students threw all these kinds of questions at him. Then it dawned on Al; this was their excitement, like the one he found when he discovered the angels.

But Alfred wouldn't talk about the angels. That was _his _thing...aside from the fact that one of those said angels would smite his brains from one wall of the room to the other if he did talk about them.

Alfred started, "I totally almost died!"

The group around him gasped.

"You did?!"

"What happened?"

Alfred asked, "What did you guys hear?"

That got some weird looks. "Your brother said you were in the hospital."

"The Internet was saying everybody got out alive, so yay?"

"Yeah!" Alfred agreed, "Yay. I just got a cracked rib or two. I, uh, fell and hurt myself trying to get away."

"_Pfft,_" one of the guys smacked his arm. "Really, dude? You fell?"

"Yep!"

The hoard started to make its away across the room, spreading to the desks as the kids plunked down while the morning announcements started their noisy cue music. One of the girls said, "Some people were saying you were a pancake."

Another gave Alfred's arm a squeeze as the group disbanded. "At least you're okay now, right, Alfie?"

"Of course!" Alfred let out a typical peel of laughter as their eyes lingered on him. "It's going to take more than a lousy driver to pin me down!"

The teacher made his way to the front of the room, and smacked his little podium he liked to leaned against to watch his class. "All right, settle. I almost forgot how noisy it was to have you, Bonnefoy, but it's good that you're breathing. Meet me after class to catch up on lost work. In the meantime..."

As the teacher babbled about whatever they did yesterday, Alfred shuffled against his seat when his classmates finally turned their attention away from him. Some of them were slumped over their desks, others digging for pencils. Schedules, quizzes, plans, but in a strict, structured way. It was too nuance. He didn't want it. Not anymore. It was only first period.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

A few more hours crawled by, not yet lunch, but almost there. Alfred's stomach gurgled loud enough for anyone within three seats of his math class to hear and giggle about it. The 'What Happened to You?!' conversation happened like, twenty times now. Alfred missed his friends, but it was starting to seem like they were just piecing together gossip, and quickly fell to their own private conversations after he reenacted his accident. The whole school, even the ninth graders and janitors heard about it, and probably wanted to catch anything left behind.

Not that they would get it.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

After all that time recuperating and being able to eat whenever he could, Alfred's stomach was ready to bust free and try it on its own from fidgeting all morning with whatever meager breakfast he ate. At last, it was time to eat again, and the café was just down the obnoxiously long corridor...with all those students in the way...walking as slow as possible. Alfred weaved side-to-side, trying to look over their heads at the hold up.

Turns out, there was no hold up. They were just slow. They should be fast, nearly sprinting to get food and a break from all those lectures, not taking their sweetest time to get there. Oh, no, it wasn't like Alfred's hunger and sanity were on the lunch line. His brother was probably already in there. He was going to sit with him and nobody else so they could talk nitty-gritty about all the who's, when's, where's, and possible why's of everything and anything supernatural. It was going to be great and very informing, and the waiting was only made worse with these damn walls of people-

Somebody hooked their arm around Alfred's, jostling him out of his vacant gaze toward the end of the hall. "The longer you wait for something, the greater the prize feels. At least for the patient, that is."

Alfred's brain buffered from the soft glowing in the middle of the sea of students. "Huh, what? What are you..._Arthur_?!"

"Hush!" Arthur squeezed his arm as a couple of teens glanced over. Their attention quickly went somewhere else, appearing unfazed by his halo, but they were not really seeing it in the first place.

Alfred craned his head down to hiss, "What are you doing here?! This is my school! You can't just walk in like some creeper!"

"I didn't just walk in like some creeper. I went through the front doors like everyone else."

"Ohmygod. Why?!"

"I have been for a couple of years now. You _do _know I'm an aid to the special education teacher, correct?" Arthur shook his head. "Guess not. Anyway, you're the only charge of mine that is not bound to a wheelchair, a walker, their couch, or a hospital bed. I tend to keep close to the elderly or very young. Look what mess I get into otherwise. Now I have to go out of my way to make sure you're not getting into trouble, as you have a knack for doing."

"Uh..."

"Oh, sorry," Arthur didn't sound sorry, whatever he was blabbering about. "I mean getting into trouble _Heavenly-_wise. I could not care less if you landed yourself in detention or anything of the sort." Alfred scrunched up his face as some of his classmates passed with excited waves and coos, but cut off to ogle at the pair connected by the arms. "Actually," this guy kept going, "that might be a good thing, to detain you in one place."

"Dude," Alfred laughed at him, "how much caffeine did you have in your tea this morning?"

Arthur scowled and went quiet.

Another student whooped, and almost smacked Alfred in the face as he held out his hand. Alfred smacked their palms together. "Yo, Al," his pal said, "tonight, your place, we'll catch up, all right?"

"Uh, sure, yeah! Bring the girls!" Alfred cussed under his breath as they went separate ways. First Arthur at lunch, now his friends corralling at his house? There was no time to trade secrets with Matthew!

"Oh, plans later?" Arthur broke him out of his plotting.

"Yep! Hanging out with the crew, apparently."

"Sounds like they're storming the gates with or without you."

Alfred let out a little laugh. "Yeah, seems like it." He kept quiet for a moment. Then, he blurted, "Want to stop by, too?" As soon as it was out of his mouth, he kind of regretted it. The Big Grump, all around his school buddies? Talk about awkward.

Arthur snipped right away, "I don't know. I have _important _things to do."

"Yeah, being a guardian ang-" A sharp pain seized Alfred's calf and he stumbled forward, but caught himself before he could collide with the people in front of him.

Arthur pulled him back, and with some serious side-eye, "It's not pleasant to hurt you, Alfred."

Alfred didn't even know he could do that. "Well, uh, then don't do it?"

"Don't be an idiot," Arthur easily shot back. He rubbed his thumb in circles against Alfred's bicep, as if that made things better. If sort of did. "Since you asked, I suppose I'll look into what I'm doing later."

"Thanks," Alfred said dryly.

Finally, _freaking finally_, they stepped into the lunch room, and the scent of all kinds of stuff and food wafted in their faces, making Alfred's stomach and patience weak. First, they'd have to claim a table. There were usually tables in the back, unofficially reserved for the seniors because they went through four years of Hell and deserved to get good window seats.

Alfred tried to keep his face straight, like there wasn't another guy on his arm, let alone a non-student, as a group of girls huddled by them, giggling and whispering. Arthur chose a damn good time to sneak around, blending into the hoard of kids shuffling around instead of popping into a class room, per say. Al was in such a nice, jubilant mood that he even pushed a chair out for him, eager to drop the bitter grunt and hurry to the kitchen mosh pit get his food.

The lunch lady didn't even turn an eye when Alfred checked out two lunch trays. Guess his black pit of a stomach saved the day. When he came back to their table, Arthur leaned back as food set in front of him, but stared at everything with a blank expression. "Ah, thanks."

"Yeah, sure!" Alfred tried a bit too hard to sound cheerful. He fell into the seat next to him and began chowing down on his lunch. It was hard to be grouchy with food in his mouth anyway. After making out with his grilled cheese sandwich, he noticed Arthur only picked at his tots with a fork instead of eating anything. "Come on, dude, I bought you lunch. It'd be good manners to eat it, wouldn't it?"

Arthur glared from the corner of his eye before popping a tater tot in his mouth.

"Are you staying long?" Alfred asked.

Arthur shook his head.

"Until lunch is over?"

"Yes."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes! Why all the questions, Alfred?!"

"You seem really pissy. Like, more so than usual." Alfred smiled and nudged his arm, but Arthur ate another tot like a robot executing a command. So, he grabbed Arthur's side to make him yelp.

"Alfred!"

"Hey!"

"Ugh," Arthur crinkled his nose and put his fork down before pushing his tray into Alfred's. "Eat this. I can't. To call it food is an insult."

"Like your chili?"

Crap, maybe Alfred shouldn't have said that. Arthur flushed red, but just sat there, probably unable to come up with anything with his brain so steamed. Alfred quickly snatched the tater tots from his tray, stuffed them in his cheeks, and leaned over to cross his eyes and try to coo with his mouth full of potato.

Arthur shut his eyes and turned his head away.

"_Hmph!_" Alfred roughly gulped his grub to nudge him again. "Come on, Artie, what's up?"

"Heaven."

"That's so tacky." Still, Alfred smiled as he carefully rested his head on Arthur's bony shoulder.

Arthur quickly shrugged him off. "Don't do that."

"Don't do that." Alfred pinched his side again. "Grumpy old man."

Arthur's hands balled into fists against his lap. "Alfred, stop it."

"Stop it. Old man."

"Stop calling me an old man!" It was actually impressive how pink Arthur could get. "I'm not that old."

Alfred shrugged and turned his gaze to the ceiling like he was bored. "Well, if you dress like an old man, and act like an old man, how am I supposed to know better?" Before Arthur could say anything, he pressed against his side and pinched his waist, making him jump. "What's that?!"

"Alfred!" Arthur actually snorted as he tried to not react and pried Alfred away. "I'm going to zap your brain!"

"Nuh-uh!"

A hand reached for his face. Alfred gasped and jerked away. He looked up when he caught a new presence standing in front of the table, and the both of them straightened, uneasily smiling at Matthew making weird faces at them.

"Um..."

Alfred smacked the table. "Sit down, bro!"

"Yeah..." Matthew dropped his tray and binders on the table before falling into his seat with a big sigh.

"What's up?" Alfred tried to make small talk pass the funky expression Matthew was making. "Got a lot of homework so far?"

Matthew glanced over his shoulder before digging into his lunch. "Of course I did."

Alfred swept the lunch room and didn't see anything wacky besides one of the lunch monitors picking his nose. Matthew took in a few tots before pushing his tray from himself. Everybody was wasting their food today.

"Are you going to eat your grilled cheese?"

"You can have it."

Of course he could. Alfred grabbed his gold and devoured it before doing the same for the rest of his own lunch. With two sandwiches in hand, he sure was a happy camper.

It was kind of chilly in the cafeteria, though. A cold itch ran across his skin as he almost brushed arms with a glowing Arthur. He glanced to his other unoccupied side, but nothing weird there, either. At least nobody was picking their nose, but there was some guy sitting at a big table against the windows, all by himself, and looking sad about it.

Arthur asked, "Are you not hungry, Matthew?"

Alfred looked to his lunch mates. Matthew spared a mere glance to his abandoned tray. "The school's food is..."

"Not the best." Both nodded and smiled at one another. Arthur said, "I can make you something to eat in school, so you won't be hungry until you come home again."

Alfred pulled a face as Matthew suddenly looked very afraid. Arthur didn't offer him any breakfast! Hm, maybe after that chili-fiasco, that was a good thing. Yes, Al decided, that was a good thing.

Matthew sputtered, "N-no! That's okay, you don't have to."

"That's rubbish. Try to eat something. I know it's unpleasant, but an empty stomach is more so."

Alfred put the back of his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't spit his cud all over the place from laughing at Matthew's obvious blight. He glanced over to his other side again, and that guy was staring at them. Maybe he was spacing off. Al waved. The guy smiled.

"Uh, dudes," Alfred turned back to his buddies, "there's been some creepy guy over there that keeps staring at us. Don't look when he's looking!"

Of course Arthur and Matthew looked. Alfred shook his head, and the creeper-staring guy lifted an arm and copied Alfred's gesture. To him? Matthew quickly turned his head away.

"Bro?" Alfred asked. He went to Arthur, "Hey."

Arthur had not looked away from investigating that staring dude, like, they locked eyes or something. Alfred leaned forward and swished a hand in his face. "Arthur!"

"Goodness!" Arthur shuddered, and his mini-staring contest flipped to a default scowl. "What?"

"Uh, you were kind of spacing off."

"Was I?" Arthur took a tater tot from Alfred's tray.

"Yeah," Alfred scoffed, and gobbled up the rest of his tots, then there was nothing left to eat.

"Right," Arthur put all the trash on one tray before stacking them together. "I'll get rid of this."

"Cool!" Alfred waited a moment with held breath as Arthur fumbled with his seat, and walked to the trash cans in the middle of the room. "_Psst!_ Mattie!"

Matthew was looking to the creepy-staring guy again, and he pulled one of those awkward smiles like he didn't know what else to do. Alfred waved his hands in urgency. "Great, now you're the one spacing out!"

His brother slowly turned his face forward, blinking stupidly. "Huh? What?"

"Okay," Arthur just reached the bins and glanced around. One of the monitors pointed to a cart that had a pile of trays on it. "Mattie, I'm not going to have a lot of time to say this, but something freaky is going on."

"You think?"

Arthur swiped his hands on his slacks and curtly nodded to the nose-picking lunch monitor before coming back again. Alfred's legs bounced as he whispered over the table, "I don't think anybody else can see that glowing Arthur does. They would have said something."

"So, it's only us?"

"And Artie himself." Alfred rolled his eyes, "I mean, come on, you'd notice if you were glowing, too, right?" He shook his head. Arthur stopped to let a group of students stomp their way to the bins, and he glared. One of the groupies looked over his shoulder, and elbowed a buddy to laugh behind his back.

Alfred could hear the panic building in his voice, "That's not it. Of course he's aware. They all do it."

Matthew steadily stared at him. "Who all does it?"

"Mattie, I'm sure I'm not even supposed to know about it, let alone tell anybody, but you...eek!" Arthur was too close. Alfred settled back into his seat and did a little wiggle as his friend returned to his chair. "So? What are your plans tonight?"

Arthur pulled a sour face. "I need to run a few errands. Then I'll be over."

"Awesome." Alfred grinned, and nodded to Matthew, who just appeared slightly confused over everything. "Oh, Mattie, we all should...wait, you're working tonight, aren't you?"

"Yeah, sorry to be a poor sport."

"Poor sport."

Arthur kept quiet as he stared at that guy again.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

* * *

"When do you think Dad will get back?"

"I don't know." The twins walked out of the school from their last shared class. Matthew said, "I hope it's soon."

Alfred elbowed his brother in the side. "I bet you miss him!"

"Uh, yeah, he's our Dad!" Matthew shouldered him after too many pokes. "Bet you miss him, too!"

"Hey!" Alfred laughed at Matthew's feeble push. "I totally do, dude!"

"Yeah, dude-"

"Yo! Alfie!" Some of Al's friends emerged from one of the side halls. Matthew's face became stony as they came over and dispersed some high-fives. "I brought the chicks."

"Nice!" Alfred high-fived them, too.

"Al, I hope you have snacks."

"Of course I do!" Alfred sang, "We got brownie mix!"

The group interrupted into several whoops, then yells of disgust as they stepped outside into the cold. Arthur went to wherever like he said he would after lunch, and wasn't around to 'glow it up.' Alfred grinned at one of his friends gesturing wildly, and they all snickered and fired up their own typical school stories. It was nice to dip back into normal. They would hang out, go home, go to sleep, and wake up to go back to school to repeat it again until the weekend where they could chill out all day with no remorse.

_Eat, sleep, school, homework, eat, sleep, school_, Alfred would hear Matthew chant to himself, and would always laugh at his monologue. It was true, though. It'd be nice to eat, sleep, then save the world, or maybe just help an old lady cross the street for once. Al glanced to his brother, who kept his gaze angled to the sidewalk. Both of them had a lot of secrets now.

Never mind the normal. Things were just getting interesting.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Alfred's friends plopped their books and bags anywhere and everywhere, and got brownie crumbs all over the sofa and coffee table. Not to mention the mess in the kitchen, but that paled in comparison to the chili-fiasco. Still, it'll be annoying to have to clean it up. Matthew would absolutely refuse to do, since they're 'not his friends.' Al swore he fled upstairs to get ready for work, not too long after they all breached the house.

"Guys, guys," one of the dudes stood up during one of their breaks in gaming. "I heard that we're getting our mid-term test grades back soon. I just want to say..." He took a deep breath and made sure to stare at everyone's faces. "I'll see you in Summer School, because there's no hope for any of us after that."

The room erupted in boos and laughter as he bowed and sat down.

Alfred spoke up, "Can we appreciate that they used the same stories for three years in a row now? Like, I feel like I can see them in my sleep, and that's not going to make me chose the 'more correct' answer. I'm going to be picking the same ones that I've always been!"

"Totally, man!"

Another held his hands out and closed his eyes to drone in a spooky voice, "What is the author's purpose of this story? Write at least four paragraphs and use some quotes!"

"Yeah, right!"

"You know what the purpose was?! There was none! They just wanted to write a damn story! Not test a bunch of high schoolers about what color the curtains were!"

Alfred said, "I'm going to write a story, you guys, just to get it put in a test like that, and everyone's answers are going to be _wrong_! I'll call the schools and tell them they're wrong, because I said so, and I know why the curtains were blue! Because I _felt _like it! I like that color!"

Something made the walls rattle, and gathering looked around. One of the girls said, "Alfie, I think someone's at the door."

"Ugh!" Alfred twisted around to shout over the back of the couch, "Go away!"

His friends giggled as the knocking came again, and he cussed and fumbled to his feet. Someone shouted after him, "Maybe it's those people asking you if you seen God!"

"Oh, shit, that's right!" Alfred hurried to the door and flung it open like there was no tomorrow. His pal was right, in a way. "Hey, Artie!"

Despite the death glare, a zing of excitement ran up Alfred's back. "I'm finished now."

"With what?"

"My other..._friends. _May I come in?"

"Nah," Alfred went to shut the door. "You can stay out here in the cold."

"Wha...Alfred!"

Alfred swung the door open, cackling, "Kidding, dude! Come in already!"

Arthur grumbled something and ducked under his arm to get inside. Once the door shut, he started to shrug out of his coat. Alfred grabbed his sleeves and pulled. "Why, that's awfully nice of you, Alfred."

"Sure thing, old man."

Alfred's friends called from the living room, "Ooh! Alfie, why don't you come over here and take _my _coat off?"

"No way!" Alfred smiled and shook his head as he went over to stash Arthur's coat in the closet and hurried back.

Arthur was staring pass the doorway, not making any effort to look friendly. "Alfie? What in the world?"

It felt weird when he said that. "Those are my pals from school," Al nudged him in the back. "Come on."

"Yes, here we go."

"Hey, guys." It was sort of awkward as Alfred entered the living room and everyone was staring at him. Usually that was a good thing. "I brought someone else! You guys probably don't know him, but that's okay. Right, Artie?"

"Arthur."

The surrounding teenagers murmured a couple of hello's, probably weirded out by Arthur's neutral expression, which happened to be a frustrated scowl. They stepped over legs and Alfred squished against the arm of the couch and patted the little space between him and one of his friend's butts. "Scoot over, dude."

His friend stared as Arthur settled beside and leaned against Alfred, away from any strange teenagers. "Cool, great. I was just going to beat _someone's _ass in this track."

Another guy said, "Hey!"

One of the girls stood and smiled at Arthur. "There's brownies in the kitchen. Did you want one?"

"No, thank you."

She shrugged and scrambled over everybody to get out of the living room. Alfred called and waved the arm that wasn't being squished against Arthur's side, "Hey! I'd like one!"

"Of course you do," the girl giggled.

Arthur quipped in a dry tone, "Awesome." He pinched the sleeve of Alfred's shirt in a nervous way as Al snickered.

The girl returned and waved a plate in front of Alfred's face with a titter, "Ooh! Look what I got!"

"Hey, gimmie!" Alfred reached for it, but she lightly bumped the top of his head before handing it over and sitting back down. He held out the plate to Arthur, "Come on, just a nibble? I made it with love!"

Arthur tossed his eyes at some of the kids laughing and took a small piece. "So I don't break your heart."

"Aw, thanks." Alfred downed the rest of the brownie in one go.

One of the guys asked, "Are you from the school or something?"

Another said, "Yeah, aren't you a teacher?"

"No, I'm not a teacher." The hidden grip on Alfred's sleeve intensified and cool fingers brushed the underneath of his forearm. A little zap of Good Feelings ran up to his elbows, like he was the one that needed it. The teenagers around them glanced around the room like they were slightly freaked out. They probably were. Arthur said, "I sometimes offer my help to the special education classroom."

That got a chorus of 'Ooh's.'

"Oh, are you done?" The girl that gave Alfred his brownie stood up again and motioned for the plate.

"You don't have to," Alfred said with no intention of getting up.

The other girl turned from watching the game on the TV screen to Alfred, and propped an elbow over the living chair to ask, "Are you two _dating?"_

Alfred wished he had that plate back so he could throw it. Not at his friend, just at the wall to distract everyone's attention. "Uh, no?" His voice came out weirder than he intended. He laughed over it and pulled his arm from Arthur's grip to toss it over his shoulder. "Artie's just a great pal, isn't he?"

Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "Be quiet, idiot."

The girl twirled a braid at them, "Well, earlier I said hi to Alfie and you guys' arms were linked together."

"Oh, oh!" The guy sitting next to them on the couch lifted his arms. "Al, next time, me and you. We're going to link arms so good."

Alfred laughed, "Sure thing, dude."

Contrary to everything, Arthur rested a hand on his knee. "I'm sure all of you know that Alfred has been in a bad accident recently." The room grew quiet. The brownie girl stopped in the doorway to listen. "I have decided, in the meantime of his recovery, I will be his guidance to make sure nothing of any harm comes his way."

Some of the kids pulled weird faces. "So...you're like, a guardian?"

Arthur's grip on Alfred's leg tightened. "Of the sorts."

Alfred snickered.

"Shut it."

"I didn't say anything."

One of his friends said, "Like a therapy dog!"

Arthur made a noise from his nose as if he thought it was funny. "Without that much fur."

"Wow, I didn't even know they did something like, follow-you-around-therapy. That's awesome, Al!"

"Thanks."

"I see now." The girl on the chair shrugged and turned to sit normally. "I figured you looked a little too old for Alfie."

Arthur scoffed.

Someone had to say, "There ain't nothing wrong with a little cougar chasing!"

She kicked her legs and laughed a little too loudly, "Ha-ha, ew!"

Alfred glanced around the room. "Okay, who said that? Dude, was it you? I seen the way you ogle at the track teacher, so don't be pointing fingers!"

"Uh, hello! It's the track coach. Who's _not_ ogling at her?"

"Aw, come on!" One of the other guys said, "That's my girlfriend's mom!"

Someone else sang, "Cougar chasers!"

"What?" Arthur made a face. "To compare your teachers to such...what have they done to deserve that? Cougars are dangerous animals."

The room went quiet again, except for the TV background music. Someone muttered, "Did he just..."

Alfred smacked his palm to his face. "Artie, no."

"What?" Arthur leaned away from him. "It's true."

All the kids started losing it with laughter, and he quickly turned pink.

"Alfred, what are they laughing at?"

"Ha-ha-ha!"

"Alfred, stop laughing and tell me!"

"No way, dude!"

"I'm not a cougar! I am a person!"

Arthur's feeble attempts only made everyone laugh harder.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Eventually, Alfred's friends disbanded after they finally stopped laughing and ate all the brownies. Arthur stayed close as Alfred hugged his pals before they left, and then slammed the door on them as they lingered on the porch to make suggestive noises.

"Screw you guys," Alfred said in a loving manner, smiling at the fading sounds of laughter. He put a hand to his side and sighed, feeling a light twinge from all that giggling, but other than that, felt great.

"They adore you."

Alfred glanced to where Arthur leaned against the living room doorway. It wasn't a question. "I hope so!"

"And it seems like you're quite content in their company. You thrive with people."

It was always easy to talk. Just getting along with certain people was something that somebody like Matthew knew how to do. Alfred shrugged, wondering where Arthur was going with this. "Of course! They're my buddies."

Arthur pushed off the doorway, but stopped to put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. A flutter of Good Feelings ran across his collar bone. "It's good that you have plenty of lively people around you."

"You, too, Artie," Alfred blurted.

Arthur let out a short laugh. "I'm not going to be around long, Alfred."

"Oh, really? What time is it?"

Arthur's expression shifted to something more serious. "That's not what I meant. I told your friends I'm here to make sure you don't break yourself during your recovery, which is just about done. I should be just that to all of you. It'd be easier to get out of the picture, don't you think?"

"Arthur, what are you saying all of a sudden? Why would you want to get out of the picture anyway? You aren't...are you bored?"

"Of course you wouldn't think like that," Arthur muttered to himself and retracted his hand. "No, Alfred, I'm not at all bored. It's..._nice_, to have a moment and peek in your lives at this level, but it's not something I should do in the first place."

Alfred sighed, "This again? Can we stop with the whole 'I'm not supposed to know what you are' thing already?"

Arthur turned his head away, "Alfred. This is past that. Yes, you know who I am, but how long do you expect me to hang around everyone close to you before they realize I won't age like they do, or even if one of us slips up in the other's presence..." His expression softened as he looked up to Alfred's face. "I'm not saying I'm going to be completely gone. Just...not in the main gist of things. What I was before, with something small to look back and smile upon this time."

A really nauseous feeling rose in Alfred's throat. "It's because I talk too much, isn't it? I mean, that's what Mattie says-"

"What. Alfred, no-"

"Is it like, illegal to befriend humans?"

"No!"

"Then what's the problem?!"

"It's just...inappropriate. I don't know how to explain this to you." Arthur scoffed and threw his hands, "How about because I said so, all right? There, me being a drabby old man just wanting to hole himself in his room and work. Good?"

"Not really," Alfred muttered.

Arthur put his hands on his waist, but spoke a bit softer, "We have two very different lives ahead of us, Alfred. I'm not going to hold you back on yours."

Alfred gazed at the floor, trying to make sense of everything being all honky-dory to shattering off the cliffside in one minute. "Wow," he snorted, "this is kind of like a break-up."

"Uh..."

"I know, I know," Alfred waved a hand, and peeled off his glasses to press his fingertips to his eyes. "That was tacky."

"It was." They laughed, but it was one of those laughs when nothing was funny.

Alfred opened his eyes to see a blurry Arthur move a little closer, and a cool hand rested on his to lower his glasses from his face. "I'm sorry," Al said, unsure what else to say. Well, he was unsure what to say to make the situation better. He had plenty of temptations running through his head on how to make it worse.

"No, it's not your fault."

Alfred wondered who's fault it was.

"Thank you for your time. It's been...somewhat pleasant. And for...not making things difficult."

"Ha, yeah, you, too..." Alfred chewed on his lower lip for a quiet moment. Arthur started to turn away. "Um, wait!"

Arthur lifted his eyebrows.

Alfred threw his arms around him. "I'm never, ever, _ever _going to see you again!"

"Good grief, Alfred, you're, _argh, _you're squeezing too tight!" Alfred squeezed him tighter, enough to make him wince, which was something that he inwardly enjoyed a bit too much. A little revenge, so to say. Arthur sputtered against him, "No! I'm coming back in a few days. It's not happening just yet. Besides, I'll still be around town, and the school..."

Alfred promptly let go and laughed in relief. "Oh! That's good. I mean," he put his glasses back in place and straightened with his hands on his hips. "For now, that's good. Yeah."

Arthur put a hand on his chest, appearing to be slightly traumatized. "Yes. God, you...you idiot." He stilled, staring at Alfred like he just thought of something scary, before curtly nodding and turned for the door. "I need to go now."

"Goodnight-"

The door shut, and Alfred started to feel hot underneath all those creeping thoughts of Bad Feelings and Good Feelings gnarling away at one another in his poor head space. "What a weird guy. Ha-ha."

His phone buzzed, and Alfred immediately went for it. "Did I just see you?" He asked Arthur's message.

'_Is Matthew working tonight?'_

Alfred rolled his eyes and trudged back to the living room to plop on the couch. '_Lol yeah Mattie is working. Why?'_

He stared at his screen for a bit longer than healthy, but Arthur did not respond. He shrugged, tucked the phone back into the pocket of his hoodie and swept some brownie crumbs off the coffee table before turning on the TV.

Sooner than later, the front door opened, and Alfred twisted around to eye the newcomer. "Hi, Mattie!" A flash of red flew pass the doorway and galloped up the steps. "Bye Mattie!" Alfred called, but he never came back. Maybe Matthew really had to go to the bathroom. Maybe it was that kind of day at work. Maybe being surrounded by books for several hours was worse to his health than Al thought.

After a good ten minutes, Matthew did not pop up to say hello or even shoot him a text message from his room. Alfred had to investigate. He flicked off the weather channel and snuck upstairs and down the hallway to his brother's bedroom door.

"...you can do that sort of thing? Whoa," Matthew softly exclaimed from inside. "That's actually pretty cool."

Alfred wanted to know what was pretty cool. He almost barged in, but decided it would be good for _his_ health if he knocked on the door a couple of times instead. "Bro?"

Matthew sighed, "What is it, Al?"

"Is someone in your room?"

"Uh, no. I was just...on the phone?"

Alfred gathered some courage and cracked the door to peek inside. Matthew was standing near his dresser, and turned around in surprise with his phone cradled to his chest. "You got a friend?"

Matthew quickly tucked his phone into a back pocket before crossing his arms. "Shut up, Al."

"You came home in a hurry," Alfred slipped into the room as Matthew was distracted by looking out the lone window. "You didn't even say hi!"

"Hi, Alfred."

Alfred grinned. "'Sup?" He laughed, "What happened?"

Matthew shrugged. "Nothing happened. I'm fine." He finally turned his head to Alfred again, blinked once, and then a crooked smile edged along his face. "Heh, Lovino went home early, so I had to stay behind and put away the new arrivals. I'm here now, at least."

That sure did sound like Lovino.

"Where's Arthur at?"

The question took Alfred back a little. He gave his eyes a dramatic roll. "You know, we're not up each others asses all the time." Matthew stared, shocked, so he waved a hand to get him to chill out. "He just left a little bit before you came home."

"Really?" Matthew lifted his eyebrows. "Well, he..." He clamped up and looked at Alfred like he was constipated or something.

"He what?"

"Something's different about Arthur."

Alfred gasped, "Oh! We still got to talk about that, huh?"

"Yes, yes," Matthew waved him off, and Alfred gave him a weird look. "He was lurking around the bookstore just before I left."

"He was?" Arthur didn't mention anything about a bookstore. Except in that text message, like it was an afterthought. "Was he looking for..." Alfred took a good guess, "books?"

"What, no! He asked me if I saw anything _otherworldly _out and about."

"Did you?"

Matthew shook his head, more in disbelief than 'no.' "No, I didn't, but don't you find anything weird about that?"

Alfred tried to bring life to the situation, "Maybe he's a Ghostbuster."

Matthew gave him a pissy look. "Al."

Alfred rolled his eyes again and thoughtlessly bumped the bedroom door in growing irritation. "What, Mattie? Is it bugging you that much?"

Matthew quickly raised his hands. "Oh, no, not at all. Arthur's a real angel."

Alfred stared for a good moment. "Yeah." He managed in a flat voice, "Yeah, you got that right." He spun around to distract himself with the new dent in the wall from the door knob. Matthew and him were the only ones that were aware of the angelic glowing. There was no way he said that out of pure coincidence. "Mattie?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"Do..." Alfred swallowed, then tried again. "Do you ever think we're meant for something more?"

"What do you mean?"

"Isn't there something more to life than trying to go through years of school to find a decent job and marry some lady and have kids?" Alfred turned around to meet his brother's wide eyes. "What if there was something...maybe more fulfilling for us?"

"Wha...where's all this coming from?" Matthew uneasily laughed but it quickly died as he gawked in what should be shock.

Alfred almost spilled everything right there. Arthur was an angel. He saved Al, but at the cost of hiding some of his memories, but Al got them back from a feather he had since he was a kid. Arthur has been around their lives, perhaps the whole town's life for a while. He looked after other people. Alfred wasn't sure why, and he may not ever know. Arthur said he needed to step out of the scene. Permanently, by the sounds of it, expecting him to play a typical life as if what happened was such a minor detail like what side of hair he brushed first.

Alfred didn't want to let him go.

That wasn't the revelation he was planning on reaching with this conversation.

"Al, if there's anything you need to talk about..."

Alfred weakly nodded, smiling past how fast his heart was beating all of a sudden. "Yeah, I will. I'm just thinking about lots of stuff. It's late you know?" Matthew scrunched up his face as Al swiped a hand over his forehead, "Whew! I'm beat. Going to go to bed! 'Night!"

"Uh, goodnight?" Matthew called after him as he fled the bedroom.

Alfred scuttled down the hall and slammed his own door behind himself like it burned his hand. He pressed his back to the wood, taking deep breaths to steady whatever freak-out was going on inside his chest. Arthur figured that he could swoop in, change things around forever, and Al would just shrug when he leaves?

The one thing Arthur was right about was that he was happy with his friends. Still is, but Al knew how that would end. He'd probably wind up settling down with one of the girls, as that's who he knew best, and have babies and get a job in one of the nearby shops to support his family.

But he didn't want babies.

Not now, at least.

He wanted to help. Not in this small town either. Around the world, and Arthur could do that. Instead he settled for mediocrity because that's what is expected of him. He acted like a drabby old man when he could smile and laugh. He could be so much more, and Alfred wanted to help Arthur. He wanted Arthur to help him, too.

How amazing things could play out if the Good Feelings weren't so complicated.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

* * *

The weekend came, finally. Alfred made small talk over breakfast to Matthew, despite sleeping in, was a force to be carefully reckoned with. He sort of already got on his nerves when Mattie walked in on him trying to shoot toast out of the toaster and onto a plate across the counter.

After breakfast and a little chit-chat, or grumbling on Matthew's end, Alfred drifted to the couch, turning on his video games out of habit. He left the main menu running as his gaze drifted to the ceiling. It's been a few days since he last seen Arthur, but hopefully that didn't mean he wasn't around anymore. Al had been thinking of a lot of things to say the next time they talk face-to-face. He just didn't want Arthur shooting him down right away without hearing him out.

Arthur was planning on just flapping back to wherever he came from and watching the townies do their business from the sidelines like some lame bench warmer. He said he wasn't there to have fun, but that didn't make it illegal. Alfred came to the conclusion that the angel would be feather-brained to not at least consider keeping things the way they are. It was a mutual benefit.

Besides, Alfred was itching to know what or where Arthur ran to during the times he wasn't being his not-guardian angel. Different places, different people, different things.

Aw, crap, Alfred was thinking about him again. Maybe he should read a book instead, but books didn't seem nearly as addicting.

Matthew noisily came down the steps, and it sounded like he had heavy boots on. Alfred twisted around with a big grin. His brother stopped in front of the doorway, and sure enough, he was all bundled up in a pillowy coat, gloves, the whole 'I'm ready for the outside world!' jazz.

"Hey, Mattie, where are you going?"

Captain Obvious said, "Out." He knelt down to tug at his boot. "I already told you I was going to the park."

Matthew may have mentioned that during breakfast. He was going to go outside, in the snow, in the cold, and probably enjoy himself like a madman. Alfred decided he was not going to try to invite himself along.

"Did you consider pulling your hair up into a man bun?"

This took Matthew by surprise. "What?"

"A man bun, Mattie!" Matthew's hair was already covering his ears and practically taking over his glasses at this point. Alfred suggested, "You should grow your hair out like Dad's, so you can style it into a bun!"

Matthew did not marvel at his genius. "I'm leaving now." He did, with a call over his shoulder, "Try not to break your ribs again."

"Hey! That was one time!" The front door closed. Alfred angrily wiggled back into the sofa cushion. He stared at the TV screen for a bit, before using the controller to shut the game off and went to fetch a book from the nearby wall shelf. There was some nerdy novel books his Dad bought for them, trying to relate to his boys, and then there was some copies of his own books. There was also a new book about sexual education just chilling in there, and Alfred pretended he didn't see it. He grabbed something that was a real story and had illustrations of airplanes in it.

After the living room was quiet for too long, Alfred turned back on the TV to a music channel and started humming along to the songs. He stopped reading the words altogether and just ogled at the shapes of the planes. If he had giant wings sticking out of his sides, he'd never touch the ground. Okay, maybe until he got hungry and had to touch down to eat. He could catch some bugs that were flying around, but that was beside the point...and gross.

His cellphone buzzed from his jeans pocket, and Alfred jumped, blinking into focus. He turned off the TV and dug around to see a couple of messages from his friends, and one from Arthur. He tacked on Arthur's message and stared at the screen for a long moment.

'_Come outside._'

Alfred looked around the room before scrambling off the couch and peeking out the window to the front yard. Arthur was on the sidewalk, and glanced up before typing something on a flip phone.

'_Put a coat on first, you fool._'

"You put a coat on," Alfred grumbled and pushed away for the closet. No wonder Arthur was only in a sweater; his coat was still in there. Al shoved one on himself before grabbing Arthur's stuff and hurried outside.

"Good morning," Arthur said. He took a step back as Alfred leaped from the porch like a gazelle and landed in front of him. "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's great!" Alfred bounced on his toes, already feeling the breeze biting his legs. His smile twitched as Arthur reached out and zipped his coat up a little further before clicking the buttons into place.

"Ah, there it is," he held out a hand for his own, and Alfred draped it over his shoulders.

"Did you want to hang out?"

Arthur shrugged on his thick jacket, buttoned, tugged, and brushed it off before saying anything. "Yes."

"Okay, cool!" Alfred grinned, but nobody said anything else. He glanced around the yard, but nothing happened. "So...uh, what did you want to do?"

Arthur answered right away this time, "Let's go for a walk."

"But it's cold!" Still, Alfred followed as his friend started toward the end of the street. "Don't you want to go inside? You know, drink some nice, warm tea? Come on, I know you can't resist your tea!"

Arthur weaved around the metal road stopper and kept walking as the asphalt turned to grass, like he wasn't cold, like it wasn't negative numbers outside. At least it sure felt like it. What was _really _the difference between 20 degrees and -15? Cold was cold.

Alfred looked around in confusion before hurrying after him. "Artie?"

"Hush," Arthur finally spoke again when they crossed the dead meadow and reached the forest stretching into far off mountains. "What would we do? Play games and watch auctions all day again? I thought you said that was something a boring old man would do." He peeked over his shoulder with a smirk. "You're not becoming one yourself, are you?"

"Uh, what?" Alfred grunted like he was stupid.

"No," Arthur lightly sighed without a coherent reply. "It is a pleasant day out. Bit nippy, but the Sun is shining." Alfred couldn't tell if he was sarcastic or not, "Isn't that nice?"

Alfred laughed, "Look who woke up on the right side of the clouds this morning." Angels slept on the clouds, right? Maybe they slept on normal beds like humans did. He clamped up pretty quickly. This felt _too _right. "You're going now, aren't you?"

Arthur turned around with a little shrug. "You don't want to have some sort of last flight? I did come all this way, after all. Not, of course, that it's a big deal."

"Of course not," Alfred nodded like his neck was stiff. Great, this was the end of the rope. They were going to go their own ways and everything he poured over for days didn't want to come out. What was he going to do, clear his throat and give a 'Here's why you should not do that' speech? Artie wouldn't just stand there and listen to him blabber!

"Al...fred?"

Alfred realized he was just standing there staring, probably disturbing under heavy thought. "Can we do _anything_?"

"Well...within reason."

That scratches out a good run in the middle of the road. Alfred put on a smile. "Okay. Show me what you do, Arthur."

Arthur bunched his eyebrows together. "Pardon?"

"Show me what you do! I want to see what you see and go where you go. What do the angels do when they're here?"

_Of course _Arthur shook his head and backed away. "Alfred, no."

"You said within reason! That's reasonable!"

"You should not want to see that."

"Why?" Alfred stepped after him. "It's because you don't want me knowing before you drop out of existence. That's it, isn't it?"

"What, Alfred, you-" Arthur clamped his mouth shut and tried to glare. "That's stupid."

"Is it?" Alfred looked up as it started to noticeably snow. A funny feeling tickled his face past the flakes that fell on his cheeks. "Okay." His voice came out small. "See you around." He spun on his heel and walked back to his house.

That was an interesting couple of weeks. Alfred would have to go back and carry on like normal, but at least Arthur let him keep his memories. He would have something nice to think back on. The little things like people miraculously surviving something on the news, or seeing a glowing figure from passersby would make him smile, right?

Something grasped his sleeve. "Alfred!"

Oh, Arthur was yelling after him. Alfred turned his head up and away, blinking rapidly from the prickly dampness in his eyes. What a grand exit, crying like a baby. Although he was a little upset, so maybe it was a bit reasonable. It was like losing a million of figurative dollars, except in opportunities. Okay, he was a lot of upset.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, and then cupped his cheek when he didn't stop walking. "Alfred!"

Good Feelings spread across his body, and Alfred stopped and let Arthur turn his face toward him.

"Oh, you're crying?"

Alfred snorted and took Arthur's hand from his cheek. "Yeah, guess I am."

Arthur quickly moved in front of him so he couldn't step forward. He looked really confused. "Why?"

"Seriously? You just expect me to go back home and carry on with my life like everything's okay!"

Still confused.

"You can't come in doing all this awesome stuff and just...be you and then walk away, saying it's for the better. It's not going to get all better! I'm going back to a normal life and just 'forget' everything that happened so far!"

"What are you talking about? Is...is that why you're crying? Alfred, that is a good thing! You don't have to worry about any of the bad things that I have to deal with. It's a nice little town. You can live your own life here with a family-"

"Have you ever thought that I don't want that? I want to help people like you do! I want to help _you. _I'll never be happy settling down after everything I know, and you know damn well I'm not ever going to forget it!"

"Help people?" Arthur scoffed and backed away. "Is that what you think this is about?"

"Well, you saved me, and you can heal and make people feel good, and-"

"Alfred," he snapped, "it isn't all sunshine and roses. Just go home and stop concerning yourself over things you don't have to."

"No."

"Alfred."

Alfred angrily blinked the tears in his eyes away and kept his stare steady in Arthur's glaring. "I don't want to leave you."

"You're an idiot!"

"Fine! Let me be an idiot! It's what I want!"

"You!" Arthur's face went all red and he threw his arms in the air. "_Argh!_ What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm an idiot! Seriously? Did you already forget?!"

"That's not something to brag about!" Arthur was trying to use the old 'scream and scoot away,' but Alfred marched right after him. "Just stop! Go away already and stop making things worse for yourself!"

"How am I making things worse for myself by wanting to help people? You stop making things worse! You stop trying to drag me back into a normal life! I don't want it!"

Arthur spun around a tree and picked up his pace, now running backwards and huffing, "Stop taking the things I say and turning them around! It doesn't work that way!"

"I'm just going to keep coming after you!"

"I'll zap your brain!"

Alfred shoved pass a tree trunk he almost smashed face-first into. "It won't work!"

"It'll still hurt!"

A little laugh escaped his pounding chest. Arthur was just a hand's length away. He turned sharply pass a tree, and Alfred went around the other way, making a grabbing motion, but caught air. He stopped, glancing around in confusion. "Artie?"

Alfred circled the tree, tossing his head back and forth to get a glimpse of glowing, but his friend vanished. "How did you-"

Something crunched on the snow right behind him, and Alfred spun around, stilling as a cold palm clamped over his forehead. The angel's wings were out. The forest was lit up by a stronger glow that shrouded Arthur and yet his face was an emotionless shadow as he held his hand to Alfred's face. He looked extremely threatening for once as he was about to turn his brain into leftover soup. He was beautiful.

Alfred felt his lips quiver against the angel's wrist, and a teeny sound of panic _may _have just came out of him. "Arthur. Come on, please don't. Please."

He guessed what Arthur was going to say next. Maybe he shouldn't have pissed off an angel. But he didn't do it. He just stood there like a statue. Then, his expression softened, and he gently pulled away with a little snort. He shook his head, whispering, "You're an idiot. Such an idiot. Why would you make this harder for yourself? Why don't you just..."

Alfred wondered if Arthur was talking to himself. He really shouldn't have, but he took a step forward and held a hand out. "Um, Artie?"

Arthur whipped around and snatched his hand. Alfred yelped as the forest bursted into bright light and strong gusts of wind blew in his face. Oh, no. Oh, no, his brains! They were being totally scrambled and liquefied, and...

All the crazy jarring sensations stopped. Alfred peeled open his eyes. They were inside now, and by the looks of it, a hospital room. His brains weren't liquefied. At least, not yet. Arthur was by the door in a flash and quietly closed it. "Arthur," Al didn't keep the relief from his voice, "you didn't-"

"You are on every single one of my nerves right now, Alfred. I would keep quiet."

Arthur marched over, almost smacking Alfred with a stray wing as he peeked around the curtain. There was a faint heart monitor going off, so that meant somebody was there. He scowled at Alfred as he crept over to snoop. An old man was laying on the bed with a breather on his face, but Al didn't know if he was sleeping, dying, or just relaxing. He hoped it was the last one.

"You will see what I have to deal with on a daily basis, and you will _beg _to go back home after what you see."

"Hey, who's creeping around out there?" The old man rasped from his bed. The pair froze and gawked at one another with wide eyes. "Could that be my _grandson _that I hear?"

Alfred whispered, "Is he supposed to be awake?"

"I rather him not be, but-"

"Why don't you come over here so I can get a good look at you, boy?"

Arthur hissed, "Just ignore him and he'll pass back out."

"What?" Alfred snorted. "I'm not doing that." He straightened and stepped out of hiding.

"Alfred!"

The old man brightened and he praised, "Ah, I thought that was you. Come to finally visit your ol' grandpa, I see." Apparently, he did not see that Alfred did not look remotely similar to his dark skin and squared face, but swished a hand that had a pincher device on it. "Get over here, sit for a while, would you?"

Alfred went over to the bed, and the old man held his arms out. He put on a cheap grin and patted the old guy's shoulders, trying not to wrinkle his nose from the gross smell wafting off of him. It wasn't like bad body odor, but maybe just medicine or ointment. He took a seat on the bed, angled toward the patient.

"So, how have you been, young man? The last time I saw you, you were still swinging with those...clubbing crowds, hm?"

"Oh, they're still around," Alfred said. "How've you been?"

"Ah, I been better, that's for sure," the old man dropped his gaze to nothing in particular. He must not been able to see much pass his nose. "These nurses are killing me with their salt-free shit. Everything salt free. Even the water!"

Alfred laughed.

"Yeah, yeah." The old man quieted down to wheeze a bit before nodding, "And that girl you were with? Have you been working out?"

"Oh!" Alfred upped the cheeriness, "We're doing great. We were thinking of going to...the mall next week sometime to get some new clothes."

"Ah, mall stores," the old man shook his head. "You'll be paying an arm and a leg for that for the same thing you get at the local thrift shop! I keep telling you that! How many holey jeans and backwards hats do you need? If you got to be cool, at least get them on sale!"

"Ha-ha, yeah..."

"Oh, that's right, your mom came in a few days ago. She was telling me you landed a job at the laundry mat down the road from your place."

"Yep." Alfred was confused. This guy's grandson was someone who dressed like a gangster, spent like a fine-diner, yet worked at a laundry mat? "Ain't anything big yet, but, hey, it's pretty easy work."

"That's my boy," The old man clamped a hand on his shoulder, which almost scared the jeebies out of Alfred. "Don't be crying and pouting just yet. We all started from somewhere. Back then, I used to get a quarter just for shoveling horse crap out of my aunt's barn. Oh, look how strong your shoulders are now. You're really shaping up, aren't you?"

Alfred smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I've been trying."

The old man leaned his head back onto his pillow with a funny expression. Alfred hoped he wasn't going in his diaper right now when he was still sitting on the bed. "That's nice to hear at least someone's out trying to make a difference."

"Yeah?"

"It's all right, son." The man coughed and it sounded gross. "_Ack,_ you don't have to keep doing this."

"What?"

"I can't see pass my lashes, but I can tell my scumbag grandson from a pile of shit!"

Alfred gawked at the old guy, not sure what to say.

"He'd never get himself a job, even if it was folding damn clothes for six bucks an hour. Mooching from his mom while the house is foreclosing." The old man broke off to another coughing fit so bad, his legs shook. Alfred leaned away. "Never could keep a girl that's good for him either!"

"Oh. So, you just...okay. Um, sorry, sir, I just thought-"

"I'm just an old geezer that could use some company?" The old geezer meekly smiled and patted Alfred's hand. "Thank you. I appreciate it. It's good to see that at least some of you young kids are up to something good."

He looked to the side, and Arthur had came up to the bed. At least he put his wings away. The old man furrowed his wirily eyebrows at him, "Ah, is that you, nurse? Come to give me more of that-" He doubled over in another fit.

Arthur touched his hand, and the old man took a shuddering breath. "It's all right," his voice was low and gentle. "You were wonderful with what you had. You can rest now."

The old man let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. Arthur spoke up, "The stage 4 carcinoma cancer will have him in a matter of days at this point. It's time for his suffering to end." He leaned over and pressed a palm to the old man's chest. A bright light filled the room, and Alfred shielded his eyes.

When he lowered his arms, everything was the same. The heart monitor was still beeping as the old man snoozed. Wait, Arthur seemed to be glowing a bit brighter, even when disguised. "What did you do? Knock him out?"

"No, Alfred. I removed his soul from his body."

"Um...you can do that?"

Arthur straightened and folded his hands in front of himself. "It's _what _I do. When you die, I will be taking your soul to join us in Heaven once more."

"Whoa," Alfred pushed off the bed. "You take _every _soul that dies?"

"Goodness, no. Just the ones assigned to me."

"So you're like...a grim reaper!"

"I suppose all legends start somewhere."

"But wait, if you take people's souls when they die, why did you save me during my accident?"

Arthur's eyes flickered to the side. "Ah, well, that's...I admit I may have been a bit...startled at the time. You almost did get ran over right in front of me. It's not a pretty sight."

"Are you sure you just reap people? Why do you wait so long to do it, and not just pop up when they die?"

"Ugh, so many questions!"

"Aw, come on!" Alfred pleaded with a trembling pout, "Please? I want to know!"

"You...I only..._urgh!_" Arthur's cheeks were pink now. "An accident is an accident, okay? Not even we can see one coming sometimes. You were never supposed to be even aware of us, remember? I stick around and monitor certain people so when they do die, their souls are not just sitting in an dead husk, or floating around dangerously somewhere as ghosts for an unreasonable amount of time when I come by to claim them. So, when you insist I am some sort of guardian angel," a snarky smile made it's way to his face, "you are wrong."

"Really?" Alfred jerked a thumb to the window. "Then why would you stop me if I climb out this window right now and jumped?"

Arthur shook his head. "You wouldn't do that."

"You stopped me from running out in the middle of the road once."

"It's not my fault that you're highly unusual. You take people by surprise. That's all."

"I think there's something else," Alfred grinned and slowly crept around the bed. "Either that, or you're lying."

Arthur glowered, "Angels do not lie."

"You skirt around the truth."

"Oh, yes, that's acceptable."

Alfred drew closer. "You're awful, Arthur."

Arthur crossed his arms and turned his face to the wall. "That's too bad for you."

"Are there only certain people that make it to the pearly gates? Nuns? Mormons? Dogs?"

"Everyone makes it to Heaven. Where they go next and what we do with the spirit is decided on how well they did in their past life."

"Wait, we got past lives now?"

"Don't worry about it. They're dead and moved on. That's why they're called _past _lives."

"We just keep getting reincarnated over and over again?"

"Not necessarily."

"What else?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!"

"You won't remember anything after you die, so I don't think it does."

"I want to know what happens to this guy's soul after you snatched it!"

"I already told you, but apparently, you weren't paying attention. I'll be taking it up to Heaven."

"Then what happens to it?"

"I don't know. That's for other angels to decide."

"Decide on what?"

Arthur turned toward him and glared from beneath his eyelashes like he was intimidating. "You are giving me a migraine."

"You're giving me super vague answers."

"It's all you need to know."

"I'm not going to stop asking."

Arthur gave his eyes a dramatic roll. "Of course you're aren't."

Alfred grabbed his hand and beamed brightly like the nuisance he was. "Of course! Come on, show me more of this 'awful' stuff!"


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

* * *

They poofed, or shimmered, or whatever angels do, into a stranger's cramped living room. It looked like it belonged in a trailer park or a small apartment building. There were old food cartons and dirty clothes on the floor. Alfred cringed from his surroundings, but Arthur lightly nudged him and put a finger to his lips before gesturing to the couch.

A lone man sat there with his head craned back and mouth wide open with sleep. Arthur crept forward, lifting a hand, and then grabbed the guy's forehead. He paused for a moment, before leaning forward to stare at his face. "Oh," he announced, "he's already dead."

"What, ew! You're touching a dead guy!"

Arthur glared at Alfred. "Ew, yes, like I said, it's not all roses and sunshine. You were probably not listening to me yet again."

Alfred grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "We gotta call the cops! We can't just leave a random dead body around!" He hurried to the window to see any familiar buildings, and spotted the town hall just across the street. "Wait, is this that shoddy motel that's-"

A quick hand plucked his phone away before he could do anything. "And what exactly are you going to tell the cops? You were in some random man's flat, and whoops, he's dead? A nanny comes around twelve everyday. She'll discover him and phone the police."

"Arthur!"

A bright light snapped across the room, blinding Alfred and making him stumble backwards. He backed into a wall, and jumped, spinning around in a new room. It was obviously a kid's room, with cartoon decals and the pastel colors...except kids rooms didn't really have an IV holder by the bed. With an annoyed groan, Alfred realized they were back in a hospital, or somewhere that probably had needles and more sick people.

"Quiet," Arthur said as he gave Alfred his phone. "She's sleeping."

Alfred looked over to the bed, to a young girl dozing underneath the covers. "Arthur, no. Come on, she's just a kid."

"You're free to leave anytime."

"Have a heart, would you? What's wrong with her? Heal her like you did to me!"

"I cannot help someone when their own body choses to shut down. Much more different than a broken rib, thank you."

The girl groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Momma?"

They gasped, and all of them grew alarmed at one another's presence. Once she got one good look at Arthur, she relaxed. "Oh, hi again."

"Hello, again, dear," Arthur adopted this much softer, less grating tone as he approached the bed. "How are you feeling today?"

The girl politely smiled, but it quickly fell. "Just tired. Thanks, I guess."

"Of course," Arthur gently pulled up her blanket and smoothed out any creases. It brought Alfred back to his time in the hospital.

"Nice room," Alfred tried, and carefully sat on the edge of the bed while Arthur knelt on the floor beside her. "Did you decorate it yourself? I love those little...uh," he pointed at the decals on the wall, "those things. Yeah."

"They were like that when I got here." The girl asked Arthur, "Who is he?"

"Ah, he's...he shines my shoes."

"I didn't know they had those anymore."

Alfred pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard what had to be Arthur's knees cracking as he stood up and walked after something across the room. "Yep. I shine his shoes. Let's go with that." He perked up at the opportunity. "You wouldn't believe how dirty those things get! Did he tell you the one time he stepped in a pile of-"

"Alfred!"

"What? I wasn't going to say anything bad!"

Arthur shook his head and went over to a lounge chair nearby to page through a book from the children's shelf. "Don't pay him any mind. I am perfectly capable shining my own shoes just fine."

"Of course you are." Alfred winked, and the girl giggled as Arthur rolled his eyes. He asked her, "Have you been here long?"

The girl shrugged. It wasn't a good question because she started to look a little down. "I don't know. It feels like a long time."

"Where is your ma?"

"She's overseas. She said her flight is delayed, so I don't think I'm going to see her tonight either."

Alfred glanced at Arthur, who just sat and paged through his book with a blank expression. "My dad's overseas right now! Maybe they seen each other!"

"Nuh-uh!" That got the girl to giggle. "Momma says Europe's really big. There's no way they'd run into each other."

"Hey, it's a smaller world than you think." Alfred scrambled for something interesting to say. "My dad's over there writing a book."

"Really? What kind of book?"

"All kinds of books! Dragons saving the princesses, underwater pirates, all kinds of stuff! But my favorite," Alfred put on a big grin, "is when he writes about the stars."

"The stars?"

"Yep! 'cause I always wanted to be an astronaut!"

The girl snickered and made a beckoning motion. Alfred leaned in. "Do you know what I want to be when I'm older?"

"What's that?"

"A gladiator."

"A..._oh_!" Alfred nodded approvingly. "Wow, you...I think you can do it!"

"You do?"

"Of course! You know what? When I'm up in space, I need someone helping me fight off some evil aliens!"

"Not all aliens are evil!"

"Well," the girl kind of got Alfred in a corner. "That's true. You're right. Even if there were evil aliens, they'd run away from us."

The girl giggled and her eyes drooped.

Alfred's smile weakened. "You all right?"

"Just a little tired. I hope Momma gets here soon."

"Yeah, me too." Alfred nibbled on his lower lip as Arthur got out of his chair and walked over to him. No, no, not the kid, his eyes started to sting. "You should get some shut-eye. Need to keep your strength up when we fight those aliens."

The girl weakly laughed as Arthur placed his palm on her forehead. "Okay, I will." Her head slumped back into her pillow, and she started to sleep. Alfred hoped she was sleeping. He grabbed the sleeve of Arthur's jacket, probably in a last-attempt to plead, but nothing came out.

Arthur kept his eyes on the girl. "She's sleeping."

Alfred jerked away. "You didn't-?"

"I'm going to wait until her mother comes by."

"Really? Wow, look at you." Alfred tried to keep the heavy relief from his voice, "there might actually be a heart in there!"

"It still needs to happen." Arthur slowly turned his gaze onto him, and Alfred rapidly blinked to clear the wetness from his eyes. "You don't cry and complain when it is an older person, but when a child's life is on the line, it's wrong?"

"Well...it's kind of expected for old people to die. I mean, kids still have to grow up and stuff, and _then _become old people!"

"Sometimes that doesn't happen," Arthur pointed out. "This is what I do, Alfred. This is my world. Constant endings. As I said, you do not have to concern yourself with it. Go back to yours."

"Does it get easier?"

"I do what I must now, so that the future may be a little more bearable for you." Unfocus briefed across Arthur's green eyes, but he quickly looked back to the girl. "Old or young, it's never easy to watch one of God's children to suffer." He suddenly sneered, "So yes, I do have a heart, thank you very much."

"What if there's a really bad guy. You'd still..." Alfred vaguely gestured to the kid. "You know? Do your thing?"

"Yes, actually, and we would take pride in watching his spirit grow for the better." An almost-smirk crept to his face. "Restarting as a dung beetle at first, though."

Alfred blurted, "Isn't pride a sin?"

"Isn't getting on someone's nerves a sin?!"

"No? Last time I checked..."

Arthur pulled away from the bed, and grabbed the book he was paging through to put it back. "Well, maybe it's time for an update."

Alfred sprung to his feet, smiling a little happily and a little sad at the same time to the girl before following Arthur. "Not to give you a big head, but I think you're right, Artie. This is super sad stuff."

Arthur turned from the book case with a raise of those monstrous eyebrows. "Yes. Yes, it is. Certainly not something-"

"Just wait," Alfred held a hand up. "You said that if we knock out the bad stuff at first, it won't be so bad later on. I know all these people are going to die, but if you're there to make their last moments more bearable and bring them to something better in the afterlife..."

Alfred's cheeks grew warm as he smiled and studied Arthur's surprise. "It's not a constant end. It's a beginning to something else. Something better. I'd love to a part of that. Well, I mean," he had to look away and scratch his nose, "if you would let me. You could always drop me off back at my house and tell me to deal with it, even if I don't want that, although it sounds like something you'd do, right? Ha-ha-"

"Alfred! Shut up!" Arthur snapped. Alfred did, indeed, shut up. "There's someone trying to sleep." He grabbed Alfred by the elbow and towed him out of the room, into a hall that definitely was something like a health-care center. He didn't pull away, squeezing Alfred's arm, and took a sharp sniff through his nose, acting all dignified as his cheeks turned pink in Al's side view, "This...this sort of thing isn't done with humans. For humans, yes, but..."

Alfred nibbled on his lip.

"It'd be unusual." Arthur relented with a heavy sigh, "Although, you are unusual yourself, aren't you?"

Hey, the floor looked really interesting all of a sudden! "Ha-ha, yeah..."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but totally smiled and butted his shoulder against Alfred's. "Since the patients are not complaining, I suppose I'll allow it."

"You...you really mean it?!"

"Yes, I guess. You won't leave me alone otherwise." An attempt to be serious again, "Just make sure that things that need to get done, get done. It's all a part of the job."

It felt like Alfred's heart soared to the sky with relief, but thankfully, it was still inside his chest. He almost bro-hugged Arthur, but kept himself together. "Oh, yeah! Totally! Thanks _so much,_ man!"

"Yeah, fine." There were a pair of nannies coming down the hall, so they got moving to look normal. Arthur said once they were almost out of the building, "An astronaut, huh?"

"Uh, an astronaut that fights evil aliens! Duh, Arthur!"

"Oh, shut it." Arthur actually looked content as he said that. "So, your place? _Video games_?"

Alfred grinned as they walked arm-in-arm down the street. "We could watch some old-man auctions if you want to."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

This meant they were like, coworkers. Except it was volunteer work on Alfred's part, and an unpaid internship on Arthur's. Alfred wondered, as they went back to the Bonnefoy house, that when he was born, he was assigned to do something for the rest of his life like the angels did. Maybe the angels had résumés and recommendations amongst the clouds, but with the way Arthur boasted a 'Heavenly Duty,' it was unlikely they had anything like job fairs up there.

Maybe Alfred was indeed, meant to be an astronaut that fought evil aliens.

"Oh, yo, dude, something funny happened in one of my games the other day..." He babbled as Arthur kept quiet the whole time, but at least the crease between his brows didn't seem as deep as usual.

They stepped inside the house, and Alfred closed the door behind himself, excitedly waving his hands, "So, they're all booing at him, and all of a sudden the dude bursts into flames." He glimpsed at a figure in the kitchen, and then to Arthur, whose expression was now rather bewildered, "I kind of wanted to cry at this point..." Double take.

"Dad!" Alfred shrieked and scrambled around the counter to throw himself at the guy.

"There you-" His father tried, but Alfred already had his arms around him and plucked him right from the floor. He was so freaking happy right now that he couldn't imagine ever feeling better. "Easy there!"

As soon as Dad's feet touched the ground again, Alfred's attention jumped to a pot steaming on the stove. He rushed over to lift the lid and took a deep inhale. What looked like stew was absolute bliss for his nose, until Dad slapped at his greedy fingers.

"It smells so good!" Alfred dissented with a smile and went to hug his father again.

"Silly boy," Dad sniffled against his shoulder. He probably was tearing up already. "You're all right. That call from the hospital-"

Alfred glanced to the doorway, to Arthur leaning against the wall with a mildly amused smirk. "Aw, Dad, come on!" He pulled away with a short laugh, "Let's not talk about that now!"

His father pulled back, confused, until he followed what Al was staring at. "What's this? Both my boys brought guests over?!"

Alfred glanced to the stools behind the counter, where his brother was whispering to a stranger. Wait, _the _strange stranger. The creepy staring guy. Alfred exclaimed, "You're that guy!"

Except Staring Guy wasn't really staring as much now. Matthew shot his brother a dirty look, typically disapproving, "Al. This is my friend." He nudged the guy sitting next to him, making him sit up with a jolt. "Ivan."

Staring Guy - oops, he actually had a name, Ivan, of course, stared at Alfred like he had a horn coming out from his head. Alfred decided to be nice and hold out a hand. "Sure, hi. You can just call me Al, dude."

Ivan just gawked.

Matthew elbowed him and whispered, "Come on, shake his hand."

Ivan leaned forward and cupped Alfred's palm with both his hands. They were big and very warm, and when he pulled away with a timid smile, his face seemed soft and pink. Alfred found himself a bit dumbfounded at the sudden flip from the Staring Fest.

Their father clattered around with the pot on the stove, breaking mini-meetings, "It is a good thing I made more stew than I intended!"

Arthur managed to take a few steps toward people, but still awkwardly hung near the other side of the island counter with a frown on his face. Alfred hurried after him and pulled him closer to his father. "Come on and meet my pops, dude!"

"Alfred," Arthur started to dissent, but his expression flopped to a tight-lipped smile as the twins' father spun around in surprise. "Err, good evening, Mister Bonnefoy-"

"Oh, please! This 'Mister Bonnefoy' nonsense," their father snatched one of Arthur's hands and brought it to his lips. "You can call me Francis, my dear."

Alfred wondered if he did that with Ivan, too, and busted out in laughter from the thought. Arthur was horrified as he pulled his arm away. "Dad! Come on! When's the food going to be ready?"

"That is not how we treat new company, Alfred!"

"Aw, but I'm hungry. And I missed you. And your cooking." Especially the cooking.

Francis scoffed and threw an arm around Alfred's shoulders to gently butt their heads together. "I missed you, too, and look," he gestured to Arthur finding a seat at the counter, "both of you have been up to so much and I haven't even been gone for over a month this time. We're definitely going to talk about that medical bill that came in the mail, though-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Alfred goaded, too occupied with thinking about that stew. "Food, Dad! Come on! I'm _starving!"_

His father pulled away, but not without ruffling a hand against his head, "I can tell! Well, what are you waiting for? Get out bowls for everybody!"

"Ugh, yes, Dad." Alfred did right away. Matthew was staring out the kitchen window with a blank expression, and didn't even react when a bowl set in front of him. At least, not until Al snickered, and he straightened.

"What?"

Alfred glanced to Ivan, who was staring, of course, but at Arthur this time. "Oh, nothing..."

Ivan tipped his head and glanced up to Alfred when he purposely stopped in his line of sight, but quickly dropped his eyes to his food. "Thank you, Alfred?"

"Sure thing. I guess."

"Alfred?" Ivan said again.

"Yeah? What?"

"Like the sauce? Alfredo sauce?"

"What?! No!" Alfred shook his head, turning away from that nonsense with a miffed giggle. That was the first time in his life that he was called a spaghetti sauce. He needed to jot that one down.

Arthur already had a bowl sitting in front of him, probably from Francis, and then _finally _Alfred could get his own. "Fill it all the way up, Dad!"

Francis came over and set a bowl down and kissed the side of his head. "Of course, just for you, _dear._"

By the time he turned back to the stove, Alfred shamelessly tipped half of his food into his throat. He put his bowl onto the counter, swiping any gravy from his mouth with an excited grunt before asking, "So, how long are you staying home this time?"

Francis made a serving for himself, and lowered onto a stool across from his youngest. He slapped a hand to his chest, "Are you rushing to get rid of me?"

Alfred had to peel his bowl from his face to speak coherently, "Not at all, Pops! It's just that I'm wondering how long I have to enjoy good food until I have to go back to boxed dinners!"

Matthew's mouth popped open in offense, but Alfred hid his face by tipping back the rest of his meal. Francis wasn't flattered, spinning around on his stool to face Matthew, "Boxed dinners?!"

Yes, it was totally Matthew's idea, with him claiming that eating out was too expensive, but eating out got them good food, so it was totally worth it. Not in Mattie's eyes, apparently. Alfred cackled from the Hell he unleashed as Francis scolded his brother about 'taking control of grocery funds.'

"Radioactive Tupperware," Francis declared. "People will begin to think I do not look after my boys!"

Everyone jumped as Ivan leaped from his stool and flew out of the room. Based on the sound of a door slamming shut, he went into the downstairs bathroom. Maybe he really had to pee. Still, Alfred asked, "What's with him?"

Matthew seemed just as surprised. "I-I'm not sure." He hurried off his seat, too, and went after his buddy. "I'll go check on him. Eat your stew."

"I was gonna!" Alfred said with a spoon in his mouth. He turned back around, hissing to Arthur, "I've seen that guy around school before."

Arthur didn't take much from his stew; he just slowly stirred his spoon around and watched the chunks move out of the way. "I've seen that man before, too."

Francis got up from his seat with a light groan as his legs cracked, and went over to the stove for another helping. "That is a friend Matthew made at school. He said so. That is good. I think it is difficult for my boy to have friends, let alone him bringing anybody home."

Alfred leaned forward to watch Arthur's expression, the strong furrow between his brows, but Arthur didn't look away from his food or say anything. "Hey, Pops, could you get me another bowl?" He picked up his empty bowl and pouted, "Please?"

Francis beamed and snatched it out of his hand. "Arthur, you said you think you saw him around before? Don't tell me you're a student, too. That is impossible."

"I'm not." Finally Arthur looked to Alfred, but his eyes went wide in fright. "I've been a volunteer for the parent-teacher meetings, and for the special education room." His expression fell back into a calmer scowl as Francis turned around and put a bowl in front of his son. "I haven't seen him around much, though. He must be a new student."

Of course Francis had to buy it. A soft smile sprouted on his stubbly face as he took his seat across from them. "A volunteer teacher? How noble of you. How did you come to..." he vaguely gestured to Alfred slurping down another bowl of stew, "get to know my son? To be invited inside our home..."

Alfred didn't miss the quick squint his father gave him.

Arthur actually managed to put on a small smile, "I told him it would be odd, but he didn't seem to want to listen. I hope I am not intruding."

Alfred quickly put his bowl back to his face to hide from Dad's All Knowing Gaze.

"Oh! Of course not! Make yourself at home," Francis said. "There is plenty of food to go around. So," Alfred caught him waving a hand at Arthur, "You two met at school? Does my Alfred have friends with the special education children?"

"Dad!" Alfred took his now empty bowl from his face. "What is this? Twenty Questions? Come on."

Francis only seemed amused. "Usually you bring home rowdy boys and girls that see me as the lame Dad lurking in the doorway! This a first for you to bring home..._calmer _company."

Alfred almost pulled a Matthew and rolled his eyes. "Sure, Dad."

Arthur said, "Believe it or not, your son took a shining to the games down at the old town hall. Bingo, especially. We sometimes play together."

"What? Bingo? Alfred, you said that was an old person game!"

Alfred sprung to his feet. "Yeah, whatever, I'm going to get more food."

"You could have told me you were a fan! We should all go up one night while I'm still here."

Alfred made a face as soon as he was behind his father's back. "Yeah, sounds great, Dad." He went back to his seat, trying to ignore Arthur practically simmering in his snarky smirk, and stowed anymore questions by tipping back his bowl and obnoxiously slurping on his third, but not yet final, round of stew.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

* * *

Matthew and Staring Guy came back into the kitchen, hopefully putting an end to Francis' interview that he liked to put on for all their friends. Everyone stared, but Ivan kept his head down as he hurried to the stove to sniff around. Matthew seemed annoyed.

Francis asked, "Is everything all right?"

With a nervous flicker of eyes around the room, Matthew quickly glanced away from Alfred. "Uh, yeah, he just...whatever it was, some warm food will help."

"Oh, yeah!" Alfred was happy that their Dad's million questionnaire wasn't on him anymore, and followed the conga line to the stove. He stopped next to Ivan, and leaned in to investigate what he was doing, which was stirring around the stew absentmindedly. It kind of ticked Al off. "Uh, you better get some while you can, because I already had like, five bowls."

Ivan quickly turned his head toward him, and Alfred took a small, defensive step back. Okay, face-to-face, to be fair, this guy was huge. Like, crush-a-skull-with-his-bare-hands kind of huge. He tried to keep his gaze from the weird jean jacket that was hugging his arms - which were bigger than Alfred's legs! - but there was something off about him that trapped Alfred to keep staring. Even when his odd, purpley eyes grazed him, the Staring Fest went on strong from both sides.

His voice was much lighter for a man his size, "You must be very hungry then."

Francis called from his seat, "Ah, but he is _always _hungry!"

Alfred let out a laugh that went on for a second too long. "Dad!" He tore his gaze away and looked to Matthew, who was watching them with a small smile. "It's true!"

Matthew lightly smacked Ivan's elbow when he played around the food too long, and finally, Alfred could get more refills.

Francis boasted as Arthur joined the congregation, "Do not worry! I made enough for everyone to have seconds, thirds, and even forths!"

Ivan turned away from the stove, and Alfred eagerly moved in. There was a loud gasp, and he jumped as something shattered loudly on the floor. He scrunched his face up, momentarily ignoring the collective groan at whatever mess was at his feet, before sighing and putting his own bowl down on the counter.

"Aw, man!" Alfred gestured to the enormous puddle of broth, chunks of food, and pieces of ceramic bowl on the used-to-be-white kitchen floor. Of course, it was Ivan who was now empty handed, also staring down at the mess. "Dude, what the Hell?"

"Don't just stand there," Matthew snapped, "Let's get it cleaned up."

Francis stood from his seat and swished his hands at the guests. "Agh, look at this. Stand back, boys."

Arthur and Ivan only took a small step back, away from each other, which didn't really help when Alfred tried to get between them and press a dish towel to the spill. "Did I give you a fright?"

Alfred looked up and give Arthur a weird look. "Give him a fright? Dude."

Matthew knelt down beside the spill and started plucking shards of ceramic away from them. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were wide and unfocused behind his glasses.

"No, no," Ivan's boots scooted away from the mess. "It just slipped! My hand had the meat juice on it, and it slipped!"

Alfred groaned, "Did he just say 'meat juice?'"

"Oh, my Lord," Arthur said, almost like he was mocking the guy, "Do be careful next time."

Matthew gawked at Alfred, but quickly dropped his gaze back down as Alfred scrunched his nose at him. Ivan jumped over the mess, and from the sounds of it, dashed out of the room, away from the crime scene. "Did he just run off again?!" Matthew slapped his dish rag on the floor and got to his feet. "Ugh, Ivan!"

"Seriously?" Alfred squawked, "Leave me here with the mess!"

Arthur knelt down, almost butting their heads together and he jerked back with a little mumble, "Sorry."

"You all right?" Alfred glanced around the room. Nobody was around. Hopefully Dad was fetching a mop or something. "What was that back there?"

"What was what?"

"I dunno. Watch out, there's a piece of bowl right by your knee." Alfred plucked the shard from the floor and added it to the growing pile. Arthur kept his face down. What a waste of food. "It kind of seemed like..." Arthur was making fun of him. "You don't like that guy."

"I don't," Arthur said right away. He paused, blinked like he was surprised, before scrubbing the floor a bit harder. "I don't know. He stares, then he smiles like he knows something that nobody else does."

"Huh? Really? Maybe he does! Ha-ha."

"Not remotely funny, Alfred."

Alfred had to roll his eyes. His Dad came back with a mop, just like a savior would, and motioned for them to scram. "I got this. Don't want you cutting yourself up. Oh, but Arthur, please, you do not have to worry about this mess. _I'll _get it."

"Absolutely not. I ate dinner. I will clean up after it."

Francis and Alfred gawked at the guy. "Right." Francis said, "Err...perhaps you can help clean up the various dishes around the room?"

"Of course."

"You too, Alfred."

Alfred grumbled as he stood up and went over to the sink, "Where's Mattie at?"

Arthur settled beside him to dry the dishes. "Don't think about it so hard."

"And what's up with that Ivan guy anyway? Is he like, socially awkward?"

"_Hmph_. Must be."

Francis kept quiet as he cleaned up the rest of the mess, and then wandered out of the kitchen. Alfred heard a knock on a door down the hall, asking something, but he didn't catch what was said. He turned off the faucet after he set out the last of the silverware and crept to the doorway. Matthew said something in return, but his voice was always too soft, and again, it was hard to catch what they were talking about.

Footsteps came around again, and Alfred hurried back to the sink, grabbing the dishes Arthur had dried. Francis swung by, eying the floor before putting a hand on his son's shoulder. "I would like to speak to you, Alfred."

"Dad-"

"Let's _go_." Francis glanced to Arthur, who kept his focus on drying spoons. "Give us a moment, please."

Arthur only nodded.

Alfred grunted as his Dad towed him into the living room and motioned for him to sit. Francis settled beside him and asked, "What happened?"

"Uh, you're going to have to be more specific than that."

Francis gestured wildly to Alfred's side. "Your accident! Come on! Let me see!"

"Ugh, Dad!" Alfred picked up his shirt to show off a slight bruise spread across his ribs.

Francis furrowed his eyebrows and gently ran a hand over it. "When Matthew told me on the phone when you were in the hospital, I was thinking so much worse! I thought he said you broke something!"

"Oh, I did!" Alfred quickly put his shirt back down. "Mattie called you?"

"Of course, as you didn't. I was supposed to stay for another week, but..."

"I'm sorry, Pops. I was kind of occupied with being in an accident."

Francis slung an arm over Alfred's shoulders and squished the both of themselves together. "My boy. I'm just glad you're all right. What about Matthew? How is he handling everything?"

Alfred was sort of taken back from the question. "Oh, Mattie's..." He sprung a big grin, "He seemed more shaken up than I was about it! And I was the one that was almost squished by a car!"

Francis threw back his head and laughed. "I missed both of you. It was a lonely trip this time around."

'Lonely trip' meant Dad didn't pick up any chicks on his book tour. "That sucks. I bet you had to cancel some good appointments."

"Worth it, to be with my boys. Who knows? When you are out of school, I think I'll take you two with me."

Alfred gasped, "Really? You mean it?!"

"Of course! You'll finally know what a good _flambé _is. And we could swing by in Italy, and run into some of the most beautiful men and women you'd ever lay eyes on! The beaches, oh, the beaches!" Alfred playfully scrunched up his nose when his Dad kissed his cheek before ruffling a hand through his hair. "All right, I'll let you go. It's been a while since I even looked at my office. I can only imagine all the dust that's in there. Ugh!"

Now Alfred was thinking about beaches. And steak. Steak on a beach. It sucked knowing that if he looked out the window right now, it would be getting dark real soon, and all the trees were still bare. The beaches would have to wait for a long time.

A light presence touched Alfred's shoulder, and he looked up, startled out of his thoughts. Arthur was there, furrowing his brows in question. "It's all good. I was just thinking."

"Really?" Arthur sounded surprised. Alfred snorted as he went around the couch to settle beside him. "Italy's a beautiful place. The beaches are warm."

Alfred gasped, "You've been there before? When?!"

Arthur glanced down to his lap and scratched his nose. "Ah, a while ago...maybe several decades..."

"Several _decades_? What was it like?!" Alfred leaned forward in excitement like that would make the answers come out faster. "Was it any different than today? What did the Italians wear?"

Arthur gave his head a little shake and leaned back a little. "Uh...they wore swimsuits, Alfred. Some wore nothing at all."

"Ew!"

"Yes, and the beaches were beaches then as they are beaches now."

"Ha-ha, okay, old man." Alfred felt gypped, and leaned over to grab his gaming controller. "You still want to stick around? Maybe get your butt kicked in some racing games?"

"Oh, please," Arthur held his hand out for the controller. "I played the _Atari _when it first came out, and all those damned arcade machines way before you were born. Don't flatter yourself."

There was a hustle in the hall, and they both peeked over the back of the couch to see Mattie and Ivan come out of the bathroom _again, _like it was their secret meet-up spot or something. They were talking about the stew, and Alfred watched as Matthew grabbed two bowls, bumped the side of his hip against Ivan's with a goofy laugh, and went out the front door without a glance in his brother's direction. Al took notice of why he felt something tugging his controller out of his hand.

"Nuh-uh!" Alfred lifted his arm up when Arthur went to grab it. "I'm always Player 1!"

"Number one brat." Arthur snatched the spare off of the coffee table and fiddled around with the buttons until it connected to the console. "Oh. That's..._neat_, I guess."

"Totally. I'll pick one of the first tracks," Alfred knocked their elbows together before leaning against Arthur's shoulder. "Just so you can ease in and-"

As soon as the counter went down, Arthur sped from the starting line.

Alfred straightened as he was whip-lashed into the game. "Whoa, jeez, hey!"

Like a madman that knew what he was doing, Arthur weaved around the corners and even managed to neatly swerve from that one boulder that was sneakily put in a blind spot just to get speeders to run off the track. Even when Alfred exploited the secret path through the woods, Arthur still managed to finish a few seconds before him.

Alfred gaped at the screen as the stats and replays pops up. Arthur set his controller on the empty cushion beside himself, slung one leg over the other, and poked one of Alfred's cheeks as his mouth popped open. "That was interesting, hm?"

"What the..._how_?!"

"You don't even have your driver's license yet, do you?"

Alfred slumped forward and put his face in his hands. "But it's a game! It's not like real driving."

"Try not to feel _too _bad." Arthur's fingertip trailed to his ear and found a ticklish spot behind it. "Driving is child's play next to flying."

Alfred smacked his hand away. "You can take your wings and shove them somewhere dark."

Arthur shoved his shoulder. "What's up with that? I thought you were going easy that time around."

"I was!"

The front door opened, and they automatically shut up to stare at Ivan glancing between both doorways. He stopped, stared, and then Alfred knew _exactly _what Arthur was talking about with his cheeky grin. The big lug crept into the kitchen, only to come out with the entire pot of stew and swung open the door.

"Hey!" Alfred had to call after him, "you're seriously taking the rest of the food?!"

Ivan glanced down to the pot he cradled in one arm, then looked up like he was confused. "Yes, I am." He fled outside, slamming the door shut behind him.

Alfred slumped into the couch again, eyes distant. He was only vaguely aware of Arthur rubbing and patting his shoulder in cheap comfort. "I only had like, five bowls."

"Now you know heartbreak." That soothing hand crept across the back of Alfred's neck, sending a little bit of Good Feelings down his spine. "Congratulations."

Alfred sprung a helpless smile as he idly glanced around the room. "Wasn't I supposed to be kicking your butt in racing?" His eyes stung a little, and with a little yawn, he let them close, just for a little bit. After all that zapping around and Feelings, it was safe to say that he was a little tuckered out. It'd be nice to put his feet on the table, lean against Arthur, let his fingers run through his hair...

That was _way _too tempting. Alfred lunged forward to grab his controller from the coffee table and gave it a shake like that would chase away the funny thoughts leaping through his head. "Come on! Let's see how much of an awesome driver you are on _this _track!"

Of course, with an offended scoff, Arthur leaped back into the game. "I hope you're done warming-up, Alfred."

"Ha-ha! Sure am!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

* * *

"Aw, look at you!"

Alfred headed to the bathroom the following morning, but his brother was already in there. Awake, before noon, on a weekend day. Weird.

Matthew already had jeans on and everything! Alfred intruded on him leaning over the sink to pick at a blemish on his forehead. "What's up! Where are you going all cozy like that?"

"Out."

Really, that's all Matthew said.

"No shit." Alfred propped himself against the doorway with one leg bouncing from needing the toilet. "Where are you going?"

Matthew shot him an annoyed glare from the corner of his eye. "We're going shopping, Al. Jeez."

"We?! Like, us?"

"Um, no. Me and Ivan."

"Oh!" Alfred stopped jittering to stare at the floor.

"Did you...want to go?"

Well, if Matthew made a face like he was getting stabbed by a hot poker, then of course the answer would have to be no. Alfred shook his head and put on an assuring smile, "It's all good. I don't really want to get in the middle of your date anyway."

"It's not a date."

"Really? I don't know, Mattie." Alfred went on despite the steady stare of murder coming from his brother, "You two are like, hanging out all the time, calling each other all secret-secret, and whatever I walked in on this morning!"

"It was _nothing. _He was getting mad because I wanted to sleep when he wanted breakfast, so he laid on top of me. That's it. Not like I could sleep in with you barging in like that. You should have knocked, anyway."

"Hey, I only came in to tell you Dad made pancakes. I think that deserves an epic entrance of me busting open your door."

Matthew waggled a hair brush at Alfred, "I will stab you with this."

Alfred waited for a grin to stretch across his face before leaning in, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"What? No!" Matthew angrily ran the brush through his hair instead of his brother's stomach.

"You sure?"

"Alfred, it's too early to get on my nerves. And yes, I'm freaking sure." Matthew paused, and then mocked in an obnoxious deep voice, "You sure Arthur isn't your boyfriend?"

Alfred cackled, "No way! I mean, yeah! I'm sure."

"Exactly. Let two dudes have sleepovers and go shopping together."

It still sounded like a date to Al. "What are you guys shopping for? Games?"

Matthew's eyes flickered away. "Clothes."

"You lying?"

"No! Ivan seriously needs new clothes!"

"Oh, yeah, definitely. That jean jacket he was wearing yesterday," Alfred made a cut-throat motion. "Yikes."

At least that got Mattie to laugh a little. "You got that one right."

Alfred's leg started to bounce again. "You guys seem pretty tight. It's funny because I remember we all thought he was just some dude in the cafeteria that had staring problems, like what? A couple of weeks ago?"

"He still kind of does, but..." A gentle smile blessed Matthew's face despite the bags under his eyes. "I feel like everything just clicks between us. Other people...it's harder to keep talking to them. Like they don't want to talk. Like they're judging. Ivan's not like that. Or at least he keeps it to himself."

"Because he's already a weird guy."

"Yep. He's already a pretty weird guy, and he needs my help, or I'd like to help him, so...yeah."

"Hey, I'm your friend, too! What the heck!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "I mean outside of family. Doesn't count."

Alfred crossed his arms and grumbled, "Totally does." He backtracked. "What are you helping him with?"

"Stuff." Matthew was good at being quiet. Too good.

"Stuff? Like math homework?"

"Yeah, like clothes."

"Huh..."

Matthew finally put down the hairbrush and moved to leave the bathroom. "I'm going now."

"Oh, finally! I was about to pee down my leg!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"_Matthew! _I cannot find you!" Francis went around the house, singing in a voice that was made for nightmares. "Where did my Matthew go?"

Footsteps passed the living room doorway, and then stopped. Alfred could practically feel his father grin and creep closer. He closed his text book, and sighed, not reading a word from his homework assignment.

"Bah!" Francis clamped his hands on Alfred's shoulders.

Alfred looked up. "Hey, Dad. Get loose from your office again?"

"Ah, writer's block." Francis gave his son's arms an affectionate squeeze. "What are you doing?"

"Homework."

"On a Sunday afternoon? What did I tell you about that? Get it done first so the weekend is yours!"

"The weekend was mine. But now, it's my homework's."

Alfred flinched as a hand ruffled through his hair before Dad plopped next to him. "Did your brother go shopping already?"

"Yeah! You know about that?"

"He came by last night to ask for his allowance so he could buy new clothes."

"Did he say for who?"

Francis gave him a weird look. "Himself, perhaps?" He gestured to the abandoned textbook on the coffee table. "What are you working on? Math wasn't my _forté_, but maybe I remember a thing or two."

Alfred cracked open the book, and pointed to a jumble of letters and numbers. "We're working these things called Pythagorean theorems, and-"

Francis shot up from the couch. "Ah, ha, maybe not! I should give Matthew a call. See if he's keeping out of trouble."

"Dad!" Alfred slammed his book shut again. At least he made the effort to read it, so it accounted for something. He sprung from the couch to be nosy as Francis flounced into the kitchen and grabbed the house phone from the wall. Yep, they still had phones that were attached to walls.

Francis squawked into the phone, "Matthew! How are you!"

It was one sided;

"I am just checking on my favorite oldest child!"

"Seriously, did any creeps try to get one on you? You don't need me to scoop out their eyes or anything?"

"Hm, if you say so. Just stay safe. I would not trust anyone to _not _snatch away my lone, handsome boy."

Alfred rolled his eyes, but wound up grinning.

"_Anybody, _Matthew."

Francis swirled his hand in the air. "Yes! I did! I mean anybody!"

"Oh, all right, I'll let you go now. Watch out for strangers and tell your friend I would like to see him again sometime. You should keep...Matthew?" Francis tipped the phone away from himself before holding it to his ear again. "Matthew!"

As his father mauled over technology, Alfred's phone buzzed, and he automatically clamped a hand over his jean's pocket. That conversation was getting boring, anyway. Alfred had a new message from Arthur.

_'What are you doing at the moment?'_

Alfred stared at his screen, at his reflection showing double chins, and smiled as he quickly typed back, _'Nothing much. What's up? :P'_

Francis put the house phone back on its receiver, grumbling about something disconnecting. He went quiet.

Alfred glanced up. "What?"

"Do you have plans today?"

Another message, _'I have work to do, but if you HAVE TO join me, I'll be around the old town hall.'_

"Alfred?"

"Uh, yeah, Dad?"

"Ugh, you kids are always stuck in your phones all the time!"

Alfred spared another glance at his Dad putting his hands on his hips, and rolled his eyes. "You sound like a stereotypical old fart." He tacked back on his phone, _'Lol okay see you there.'_ He flinched and pressed his phone to his chest as Francis came close to cuff the back of his head before roughing up his hair. "Dad!"

"This old fart is going to be in his office if you ever want to talk to him."

Alfred sucked air between his teeth, and Francis' warm expression fell before he even said anything. "Actually, uh...I was going to go out with a friend..."

Francis smiled again, "No, that is good. Hang out with your friends. I should really get back to writing."

"Okay." Alfred cringed from the sad sounds coming from his own face. "See you around, Pops." He rushed out of the room before his Dad would say anything else, and dug around the nearby closet for something warm.

Despite his best precautions, it was cold and gross outside. No wonder Arthur didn't want to walk all the way across town, so he made Alfred do it.

"Cranky little...parrot." Alfred grunted before darting off the front porch. Did he look like a maniac jogging through the snowy streets of town? Sure, but the frigid globs of rain didn't seem as cold anymore, and the air numbed his cheeks by the time he reached the town hall. There weren't many people out and about, probably because they had enough common sense to avoid the gray skies.

Arthur wasn't there. Alfred glanced around, making faces as the cold air stabbed his throat as he tried to get his breath back. Even the road was fairly quiet. He jumped as a door slammed and echoed, and he turned his attention across the street. Arthur emerged from that shoddy motel where that one guy died in just a few doors down.

Alfred's legs carried him across the road as Arthur fiddled with the door, and cussed as apparently the lock gave him difficulties. So that's where he lived. Whatever was inside, hopefully it wasn't anything like his neighbor's. Alfred leaned in, almost looking over Arthur's shoulder, and shouted, "Hey!"

Arthur thrashed, dropped his keys, and spun around with his palms facing out. Alfred threw his hands up. "For fuck's sake, Alfred, really?" Artie scoffed and stomped a foot, "I almost flung you across the damn car park!"

"Whoa, really?" Alfred took a step back as Arthur bent to snatch his keys and jam them in his coat pocket. "You can do that?"

"There are so many things you don't know about me," Arthur said matter-of-factly. "Don't sweat it." His sneer fell as he tipped his head. "How did you get here so fast?"

"I ran. Duh!"

"Oh, you ran."

It went quiet. Alfred glanced behind Arthur, to the metal door scored with light divots and scratches all over. Even though he knew the answer, Alfred asked, "This is where you live when you're down here?"

Arthur steadily glared. "Yes. And?"

He was probably expecting a rude remark. "I like your tie."

"I...oh." Arthur gave it a small tug and averted his eyes. "Thank you."

"Yeah..." This was weird. "So, what's up?" Alfred tried jesting pass the clammy feeling over his body, "You up for some Chinese auctions?"

Arthur nearly smiled. "That's not working, Alfred. There's a bingo game starting soon. We shouldn't miss it."

"What, hey!" Alfred easily caught up when Arthur pushed by him. "That's not working either!"

"It is so. I have to keep an eye on my cases and a couple of them just so happen to be in the gaming mood."

"Uh, huh, sure."

Arthur clutched onto Alfred's sleeve. "Let's look both ways before crossing the street, yeah?"

"Sounds good." A car zipped by, and they did that half-jog people do to cross roads. "Thanks. I don't want to break my ribs again!"

"Or anything else..."

"Can we close the doors now?" An elderly man asked over the collective chattering as the pair scuttled inside the building. "It's drafty and all the warm air is getting out!"

Alfred glimpsed around for an empty table, away from the pissy expressions on the old folks, or others with their unfocused stares at nothing in particular. He slightly jumped as Arthur let go of his arm to cup his lower back and push him to an empty corner table. Arthur pulled out a chair, and swished a hand, "Here, sit."

Alfred gave him a weird look, trying not to smile like an idiot. "Was going to anyway, but...thanks."

"Hmph. It's called manners, twat." Arthur went around the table to sit across from him. A few more attempts to quiet the chatty old people didn't really work, so they wound up just staring at one another for a bit.

"So, what do we do? Aren't we supposed to get cards?"

"Yes." Arthur glanced up, and Alfred followed. A burly woman hustled to their table with little baggies of plastic disks and bingo cards in hand.

She smiled at Arthur as she put the stuff on the table. "Good to see you again, dear."

Arthur managed a small smile and nod, which quickly flipped to a default scowl as soon as she turned away, calling loudly for the surrounding attendees to be quiet.

Alfred nodded and tossed him a cheeky wink, "Just work and no play, huh?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, letting out a noise of disgust. "Shut up."

"Does everyone have a card?" Nobody replied. "Okay! Good!" That lady must have been the bingo host or something. She went onto a small stage with a podium that held one of those bingo-ball spinners. "Let me get the numbers mixed up, and then we can get started. Remember guys, five across, down or diagonal." She sent a stern look to an older woman. "We're _not _going four corners. Prizes are on the table in front of me, and yes, the rumors were true; Main Street Café was generous enough to offer five dollar gift cards for us today! Yay!"

Alfred wiggled in his seat. Ice cream from down the road sounded great. The other people (including Arthur) didn't seem as eager, undeserving of such a beautiful gift.

"You ought to be careful." Arthur pulled him out of his daydreaming about what flavors he was going to get. Or maybe he would get a coffee. Maybe _two _coffees. Alfred jumped as one of Arthur's legs brushed between his calves. "I'm on top of these sorts of things."

Alfred just blinked, registering some of his brain cells giving up from the silly statement. "It's bingo."

The lady called out a combo, and all eyes glanced down to their cards in a slight panic. Neither of them put a chip down.

"You have to be paying attention," Arthur insisted, smirking like bingo had untapped secrets only he knew.

Alfred nodded, bemused to where he was going with this. What, are bingo secrets important enough for angels to keep under their wings? He imagined Arthur at a bar, saddling up to a pretty woman and aiming a finger gun at her.

_"Hey, beautiful. You know, I'm really good at bingo._"

"It may prove a little tough, but try to keep yourself together."

Alfred wound up smiling like an idiot despite his best precautions. "It's bingo," he repeated. Arthur must have been nervous, unable to keep his legs still as they kept nicking Alfred's. The lady droned, and Al scrunched his eyebrows together as he looked over his card. "Did she call I-16?"

Arthur didn't sound angry, but rather snooty, "What did I _just _tell you?"

Alfred shot his arm in the air and hollered, "'scuse me! Could you repeat that!"

A lot of heads turned. The bingo lady looked shocked, but complied, and carried on. Alfred swore he saw Arthur stick out his tongue from the corner of his eye.

After a while, a couple of people called bingo, and the pair glared at one another and their own boards. Alfred asked, "Wanna switch?"

"No." Arthur thought for a bit, before shoving his card across the table. Alfred flashed a grin. He was feeling lucky. The lady started calling again, reminding everyone of the remaining prizes. There were still a couple of gift cards left.

After way too much tension between three different almost-bingos, Alfred leaped from his seat and yelled incoherently. The entire room stared. He waved his arms, practically shrieking, "I got bingo!"

A few grumbles rose from the small gathering, while others giggled as he flopped back into his seat for the bingo lady to investigate. "Everything checks out," she said as she went back up front. "Go ahead and pick something."

"Awesome!" Alfred didn't even look at the other stuff on the table. He grabbed what he came for, looked up the hostess watching him from her podium, and he smiled at her. "Thanks so much!"

She seemed torn between being flattered and freaked out. Alfred didn't linger to decide for her. "All right, everybody! Last round!"

Arthur hissed from across the table, "Fucker."

"Oh, Artie, what happened to your awesome strategy?" Alfred yelped as a shoe pressed into his groin. "You freaking sore loser."

"You ought to buy me something with a lot of caffeine for putting up with you."

"Huh," Alfred's tongue blabbered without his brain's permission, "sounds like a date."

Arthur scoffed, but then a mess of words came out. Alfred didn't even know if it was English.

"Dude," Alfred held up a hand to stop Arthur before he had an aneurism, "that was a joke."

"Hmph!" That got Arthur to clamp up for a moment as he pointedly turned his face away. "Stop being so noisy. I'm trying to win something here."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Arthur didn't win anything. He practically made a bee-line for the door, but all those other old farts clogged the exit, gabbing and saying their goodbyes, no longer hostile with one another. The bingo hostess lady intercepted him, saying something Alfred didn't catch until he pushed by some folks that rudely butted between them.

"-anything this time. You'll be all right?"

"Yes," Arthur was firm, but not impolite. "Please do not concern yourself over me."

"Well, I know that-"

"Good day." Arthur slunk away, practically under people's arms to flee. Alfred flashed her an apologetic smile before quickly following. It was still gross and cold outside, of course, but at least the light breeze was fresh over all that old lady perfume wafting around the bingo room.

Alfred flipped and turned his gift card in his hand as they approached the curb. He tore his eyes from it, to Arthur, who hunched over with his hands stuffed in his slacks pockets. "Are you cold?"

"What?" Arthur quickly put in before Alfred repeated himself, "I'm _fine._"

And pigs fly. Oink oink. Alfred wondered what that conversation with the hostess lady was about, that Arthur would be all right. Did he rely on lucky winnings over a bingo game? This time, other people got lucky before him, so he had to walk away with no money, even for food. Al started to wrap his head around Arthur's financial life. "Here."

Arthur gawked at it like it was angel poison. "What?"

"Take it! You can have it!"

"Absolutely not." Arthur shot off of the curb, almost leaving Alfred in the dust, but he could keep up on longer legs. "You've won it. It's your prize."

"Yeah, you're right. It _is _my prize. I get to do what I want with it. So, here, I'm giving it to you."

"I don't need it."

"You need it more than I do." They slowed in front of the parking lot to the motel. "Seriously, you're staying in a place that can't even bother fixing their sign that's been blown out for four years now. Dad gives me allowance anyway. Besides, I'm sure that being a _not-_guardian angel doesn't rake in the dough."

"I don't need to be 'raking' in any 'dough,'" Arthur snapped. "There is a roof over my head to keep my wings dry while I work. That's all I need."

"Yes, Arthur, I get it, you got all that you need, but do you ever give yourself something you want?" Alfred held out the gift card again. "Spoil yourself sometime, man!"

Arthur snorted and hurried across the small parking lot without a word.

"How come you won't take it, but you told me I better get you something to drink?"

"I-I was just saying that!" Arthur started to mess with his lock, cussing as he jostled it around.

Alfred saunted up the two little porch steps and propped against the wall beside him, still holding out the card. "You were just saying that? 'cause you were getting mad because you were losing at bingo?" Arthur wagged his head side-to-side, and wound up dropping his keys again. "Typical old man! Getting mad at the world because he lost a game of bingo!"

Arthur sprung up, face red and huffy, jammed his keys in the lock, and snatched the gift card out of Alfred's hand before throwing open the door.

"Where are you going, old man!"

"Inside!" Arthur gave Alfred's shoulder a sad little push when he tried to follow him. "You're not allowed in my shoddy motel room!"

"Aw, come on-" Alfred jerked back as the door slammed in his face. "Okay, um..." He looked around, but all the old folks were already clearing out, more worried in fleeing the chilly outside than his nearly mutilated nose. The door cracked open, and a green eye glowered. "Heya-"

Arthur closed the door again.

"Uh..." Alfred scratched the back of his head, and looked for answers on the porch ceiling. It was caked with dirt and age. The door opened _again,_ but at least Arthur had the audacity to look guilty this time.

"Come inside, idiot, before you catch a cold."

"Aw, thanks!"

Arthur glared after Alfred as he hurried inside. "You better not make fun of this place. It's my home. And no messes either!"

First off, there was a big bed sticking out of the closest wall. A big bed, for big wings. There wasn't much room between that and a pair of chairs and a round dining table behind _blue _kitchen cabinets. Talk about a blast from the past. Nothing was falling on their heads, and there were no obscene cracks in the walls. Alfred even gave the grayed carpet a once-over to look for mice, but as far as he was concerned, Arthur was the only tennant.

"Wow, I thought motel rooms were supposed to be all creepy and run down. Like that one dead guy's room."

Arthur sighed in exasperation, "Alfred..."

"He's still not in there, right? They cleaned that all up?"

"Yes! It's taken care of." Arthur swished his hands into the air. "Come on, take your sweatshirt off."

Alfred whined, but raised his arms anyway, "But it's cold!"

"How about a cuppa to warm you up?"

"A what?"

"A cup. Tea!"

"Oh! Uh, sure! Iced tea?"

Arthur draped the sweatshirt over one of his dining chairs before shrugging out of his own coat. He had a nice, clean white button down shirt tucked into his slacks, but there was also two long slits running over his shoulder blades, also buttoned. "How could you warm yourself with _cold _tea?"

"Uh, what?" Alfred registered what he said. "Hey! You told me not to judge!"

Arthur looked downright confused, shook his head, and went to dig around the ugly colored cabinets without saying anything else about that. "How do you want it?"

Alfred swept the room again for somewhere to sit. There was a couch in front of a small TV stand, but the bed was closer. "Hot, I guess?" He jumped on the edge of the bed to make the springs squeak. After a while of awkward silence, he drifted to the TV set and flicked through the channels.

"Keep that down," Arthur said as he watched water boil like an insane person. "The neighbors are old bats."

"Ooh! They got soap operas!" Alfred feigned excitement with jazz hands, "Who wants to watch this guy fake his death for the forth year in a row?"

"That one has only been running for three."

Alfred smacked the sides of the couch. "Seriously?! You, Artie, watching _soap operas!_"

"Shut it."

"Here I was thinking you were more of a weather channel kind of guy!"

Arthur turned from the stove with two steaming mugs and steam nearly coming out of his ears. "It gets late some nights, and there is not much to watch besides auctions and reruns!"

"Come on, I was just teasing. Old grump."

Arthur put a cup on the other side of the TV stand, probably his, and grabbed one of Alfred's outstretched hands, and put the other mug against it, instead of just handing it to him like a normal person. The constrast between an icy palm and the hot cup was neat, though. "It's still seeping, and it'd be good to let it cool down first. You burn your tongue, it's your fault."

What if Alfred found his cheeks burning instead? He tentatively pulled his cup closer to his face, taking a sniff as Arthur lowered himself onto the loveseat beside him and fiddled with the TV volume. A woman on screen weeped in Spanish to the night sky, probably lamenting about a lover she wasn't supposed to have. Arthur settled back against the cushion with his own cup, chuckling over what the in world she was saying.

Alfred took a small sip of his drink. Holy cow. He jerked back and he smacked his lips.

"Let me guess...hot?"

"That's...actually pretty good!"

"Of course it is! I've been making tea for nearly a hundred years."

Alfred rolled his eyes. "So, do we still have things to do, or are we just taking a break?"

"I suppose a nice, long break is appropriate. I have two less souls to monitor, so I happen to have a bit more free time than usual until it's time for others to join them."

"That's cool." Alfred lightly bumped their shoulders together, "I guess it's 'me' time now, huh?"

Arthur clamped onto his leg, worrying about his tea spilling. "Given everything that has happened lately..." One side of his mouth crept into a smirk, "I suppose it's easier to keep you closer these days."

Alfred laughed and slung an arm over his shoulders, teasing, "Artie, you better not be flirting with me."

"Oh, please. In your dreams."

"Yeah? What if they are?"

Stupid brain. Why wasn't it doing its job with keeping Alfred's mouth in check? Arthur turned his head away to cough, but it was one of those, 'Ah, jeez, things just got awkward' cough. "Well," if Artie was going to liquefy Alfred's mind, now would be a good time, "I've heard your brain is much more awake at night than you are." He curtly nodded like there was a scientific explanation to this. "Maybe that's why you are having...odd visions when you are asleep."

"Oh, really?" Alfred considered shutting up forever one day. Today was not that day. Panic was eminent. He laughed loudly, "That's neat!"

'That's neat.'

Panic.

Arthur leaned forward to turn up the TV's volume. Alfred quickly took his arm back, and let the steam rising from his cup fog up his glasses and hide his face. Something was definitely in the tea.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

* * *

"Do anything yesterday?"

"Me and my bro rode our four wheelers through the woods as soon as I got home. It was so fun! A little cold, but hey, whatever."

"Well, I picked up a few outfits while the winter stuff was on sale. Hey, Alfie, were you at the thrift shop a couple of days ago?"

"Alfie!"

Alfred jumped against his desk. "Huh, what? Uh, no, you probably saw Mattie. I know he was running around."

Some of the girls giggled as Alfred sent a nervous gaze around his second period class. The teacher glared from her desk, but he already finished the assignment, so he could talk...as long as he kept his voice down.

A hand tapped his table, "What _did _you do?"

Alfred shrugged. "I mostly played video games...like until three in the morning, bro."

"Bro," his friends agreed.

One of the girls wiggled in her seat and smiled at another, so she was about to announce something good. "We're going to the movies this coming weekend. You should totally come with."

Alfred perked up at that. "Yeah! I'll see what I'm doing then!"

The teacher finally spoke, "Hopefully it's your homework."

The surrounding teens started to snicker as Alfred ducked his head. "Uh, yeah, that, too."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Arthur appeared around lunch time, coming right out of the hoard of teenagers like he was once a part of it. Alfred jumped a little when he hooked their arms together. "Afternoon." His voice was low against the collective blabbering around their heads. "How has your day been so far?"

"Good! Yeah, good." Alfred's eyes flickered to his occupied side, but quickly darted away. "Thanks. Uh, you?"

"I'm fine."

Fine. Always fine.

"Are you all right?" Arthur said, "You're quiet."

"I'm hungry, dude!"

Arthur seemed unusually chatty, "What are we doing today?"

"Anything you want to do?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know Arthur," Alfred listened to his own tone become snippy. "What do you want?"

"Whatever is fine."

Alfred clenched and unclenched his teeth, keeping his eyes forward as Arthur stared at him for a moment before looking away.

A pair of girls walked out of the kitchen with trays of food, slowing in front of the guys to giggle and squeal in obnoxious mockery, "Hey, you two!"

The heat around Alfred's face shot up the wahzoo. "Hey. How you guys doing?"

"Good." They looked at one another. More giggling. One of the girls nodded to Arthur. "What'cha doing over here by all the students?"

"We only have one kitchen," Arthur easily pointed out. "Besides, my lunch just so happens to be at the same time as this one's, so..."

"What about the special-ed kids?"

"Too quiet for Alfred's tastes."

Alfred smiled to agree.

The girls exchanged another look, but snickered and waved, buying the lies. "Okay, see you around!"

Alfred nodded, then almost got whiplash from Arthur charging toward their own table. "Nosy lot," the grump muttered. "There's no such thing as too quiet."

"You're pretty good at lying."

Arthur broke into a smile. "Why, thank you. Comes with age."

"Nuh-uh. Mattie's real good at lying, and he's not old!"

"Is that so?" Arthur seemed to be really interested in that. "I'll have to keep that in mind then."

"Yeah...I'm going to get some food now. Want anything?"

"Not much."

"Cool."

Alfred turned to the kitchen with a suppressed sigh. There was a building stress between the crease of his eyebrows. He hated it. Then again, who really likes stress? He tried to appreciate the familiar sight of double sides of tater tots and their hard work at existing.

Every time he tried to distract his mind, it snapped back to that night, his stupid joke in Arthur's motel room. Yeah, it was embarrassing, enough for Alfred's stomach to try gymnastics the whole time, and even now it still kind of was, but it was a _joke._ Arthur ended up acting like he had an allergic reaction for the rest of the night, and even now, things were kind of slanted between them.

Either way, it was a joke.

Arthur just had a poor sense of humor.

That's all.

...

Why did Alfred say that in the first place? That he could have been dreaming of Arthur? He didn't even do that. Tacky. He never dreamt of any angels.

Unless he did, and didn't remember.

Oh no.

Alfred's head started to whip around and around, and he tried to keep his steps straight as he went back to their table. Arthur was watching him with his hands tucked under his chin and a calm look to his face. Alfred put on a cheap smile, hoping he looked that chill, too. He stopped by the table, ordering his brain to put down the tray, and then collapsed into the seat across from Arthur.

Alfred grabbed a few tots and shoved them down his throat, but it was hard to swallow. As Arthur steadily gazed at him, he grew hyperaware of the world inside their little table. How his clothes felt against him. How his glasses sat on his face. If he chewed like a cow.

"Are you all right?"

A nod.

A thin hand reached across the table. Alfred flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, but nothing came to touch him. He peeled open one eye, and Arthur's arm hovered as he furrowed his eyebrows and tipped his head.

"No," Arthur answered for him. "Something's...your spirit...like it's lashing out, but not...like...a churning?"

"That's probably my stomach." Alfred put a hand over his belly. "Quit peeking at my spirit man, it doesn't like that!"

Arthur lowered his arm and balled his hand into a fist against the table. "Hell forbid that I express concern for once."

Alfred mashed another tot in his mouth and scrunched up his face. "I thought it went like, 'Heaven forbid-'"

"Your brother is coming. Why don't you get into your normal seat?"

Alfred quickly complied, not taking a pause with inhaling his food as Matthew approached the table.

Matthew stopped, but didn't sit down. "Hey, Alfred!"

Alfred looked up in surprise to the unusually loud voice. Matthew towered over the table with Hell iced over on his face. "Hey...Mattie?"

Matthew narrowed his eyes. "Did _you _get to school on time at least?"

"Yeah?"

Alfred forgot to wake Matthew that morning. It was sort of a tradition, that quickly became a necessity to get him out of bed. "Oh, shit!" He dropped the tot in his hand. "I totally forgot to wake you up!"

Matthew exclaimed in obviously fake wonder, "You forgot!" A snort, then he fell into his seat. Alfred tossed Arthur an annoyed look, but Arthur was just watching Matthew with a blank expression. "Next time, I would like to know you're going to run off early in the morning before you leave!"

Arthur sourly suggested, "Why don't you get an alarm clock?"

Matthew shot back, "I sleep through them." He turned his glare onto his brother again.

Alfred smacked his palms together and shook them, "I said I was sorry! I forgot, so please don't be mad anymore! You're scary when you get mad!"

Matthew scrunched his mouth to an irritated pucker, before it melted into a smile. "You're right, I am. I'm sorry. I just...I guess I'm not having a good day so far."

Arthur butted in before Alfred could ask, "What happened?"

Matthew gave him a look of surprise. "Uh, school." He nodded, then glanced to Alfred before staring at Alfred's half-demolished lunch. "School lunches..." He ended on a breath that made it seem like he was going to say more, but he just stammered into a sigh.

Alfred felt it to the very depths of his soul. He looked to the table where Ivan once sat and stared at the small group, but it was empty now. "What about Ivan?"

"Uh, what about him?"

"Is he around?"

Matthew kept a distant gaze on Alfred's tater tots. Alfred made sure to eat the rest of them, so he didn't get any ideas. "He's...taking a vacation."

Alfred reeled a bit.

"A vacation?"

Arthur said it at the same time.

Alfred had to smile from the coincidence. "Aw, man, I wish we could get a vacation. Like, right now. Wait, don't we have one coming up soon?"

"Oh, you mean the weekend of _Valentine's Day_?" That smirk was unusual on Matthew. "Doing anything _special_?"

Those were serious Dad vibes coming off of him. Alfred easily replied, "Sleeping in, duh!" He couldn't believe that Matthew, of all late sleepers, would forget that.

"Oh." Maybe Matthew realized he could sleep in, too. "You're just going to sleep the whole weekend away? Don't you want to do something?"

Alfred grabbed the sandwich from his tray, feeling better with some food in his stomach. A rack of four days stretching ahead to do things they did not have time to do between school, homework, and a healthy sleeping schedule? "Do you want to have an all-weekend gaming marathon? We can-"

Arthur flew out of his seat, snatched the lunch tray, and hurried to the trash cans. There were still green beans on there.

"Hey!" Alfred called after him. That was his lunch money going into the garbage. At least he had the rest of his sandwich. Those beans were probably dry anyway.

"Al," Matthew's voice dropped, "That's a day for romance. Don't you _maybe _want to take Arthur out and-"

Alfred's throat constricted around his mush. Matthew's mouth popped open in shock, but Al shook his head, trying to say he was all right. "Dude..." Something may have been in the wrong tube. "It's not like that! I thought I already told you we're not..." Okay, something was definitely stuck. "Choking!"

"Oh! Oh!" Matthew patted around for something, but Arthur took the lunch tray up with a milk carton still on it! "Damn it, here!" He slammed a half full water bottle in front of Alfred. "Take the rest of it!"

Alfred eagerly complied and drained the rest of the bottle before spewing water all over the table. "Holy shit, I almost just died!"

Again!

Matthew rolled his eyes. "You sure you aren't doing anything?"

Alfred cleared his throat to get the rest of the grit down. "Yeah, Mattie, I'm sure!" He was a bit terse, "I want to sleep in and not deal with homework or pop quizzes. I don't have to do any of that..._romance _stuff. Not buying flowers or anything."

"No, I suppose you don't _have _to."

On a lighter note, Alfred said, "But maybe Dad will get us chocolate again?"

Matthew let out a short laugh, "Oh, yeah, maybe."

It went quiet between them. Alfred made sure for the third time that nothing was stuck in his throat anymore. Arthur came back, and set a milk carton in front of him. "I've noticed that you didn't touch this, and maybe you wanted it..."

Alfred looked up with an excited grin. Hell yeah, he wanted that milk. "Sure thing! Thanks."

Arthur only grunted, and noisily fumbled over the bench as he sat down, even clipping Alfred's shoulder in the not-so-simple process. Matthew traced a scratch on the table with his finger and pulled a grimace as he peeked at Artie. Still, it was quiet between all of them.

Alfred swirled his milk around in his carton for some movement, glancing at his brother and his friend, but he really didn't know what to talk about this time. Matthew didn't seem so welcome of Arthur, yet he teased Al about him. What a jerk. Like the dreaming wasn't enough, Mattie expected he'd grab some roses and wave them in front of Arthur's face? Next they'd be taking a bed together!

Alfred's train of thought derailed from the station, plunged over a cliff and crashed into a deep dark pit. Oh no, there was a great wreckage and carnage everywhere-

Matthew suddenly smacked the table, making everyone else jump as he gasped excitedly, "I have a great idea!"

Alfred blinked, his eyes refocusing from distantly gazing into the tragedy of his mind. "Well, what is it?"

"How about we hit up the gas station for snacks and drinks before we get home for that gaming marathon you were talking about?"

Best idea of the week, hands down. "Dude, that's such a great idea! We got to get stuff like-"

"Alfred," Arthur swished a hand in front of his face. "There's something coming up later today. It's about...work. I figured you would want to be a part of it." He turned his face to the windows, "Unless you have other plans, then you don't need to concern yourself over it. I just thought to let you know."

"Oh, really? What?"

Arthur gave him a long look.

"Right," Alfred said. "Work."

Matthew glanced between them, crinkling his eyebrows together. "Work?"

Alfred tried to keep his face cool. "Yeah. I help Artie help people. You know, during our off time."

"Help...people?

"Yep, that's what I said."

Matthew shook his head, waiting for clarification.

Arthur shot up from the table again. "You know what? Don't worry about it tonight, Alfred. Go play your games with your brother. I'll be quick."

"Huh? You sure?" Alfred quickly turned as Arthur went behind him. "You all right?"

Arthur stopped, and lightly touched Alfred's shoulder, sending a chilly gust across his back. "Yes, I'm sure on this one."

"Um, all right." Arthur started to walk away, and Alfred rocked side-to-side, getting anxious. "Text me later, okay?"

Arthur held a hand up without looking back.

"Big Brows," Alfred blurted, and polished off the rest of his milk carton.

"So," Matthew eased in, "work?"

"Yep," was all Alfred said. "Work."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Science was their last class of the day. Biology, to be exact. The best for last. The twins shared that class, but they sat nearly on opposite ends of the room, much to their chagrin on good days, and they would shoot dirty looks at one another on bad days.

On the last class on a day before an extended weekend, most teachers would pretend to be busy, but their science teacher was drilling out questions about the hierarchy of nature. First came the leaves of a tree, then a caterpillar would come and eat them until a bird ate the caterpillar, and then a bigger bird would eat the smaller bird. Stuff they have been learning since elementary school, but with more complex terms.

Alfred nodded to her droning, while a classmate at the table beside him flopped over with a light groan. He peeked at Matthew holding his head up by a palm, but he had this dead look in his eyes. The teacher snapped at the other student, which made him whine about the upcoming weekend. Several other students agreed.

"You are still in my class for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes is all I ask!"

Matthew straightened and blinked, playing innocent. Alfred stifled a snicker, and paged through the chapter. A fuzzy caterpillar munched on leaves. Arthur's eyebrows. Sometimes caterpillars were lucky enough to become butterflies. Arthur's eyebrows detached from his face and grew wings to soar into the sky, much to his dismay. Then, a bird would come and gobble up the butterfly. Alfred didn't want to imagine that.

The teacher said something, sounding pissy, but Alfred did not catch anything. Maybe he should pay attention. "Mister Alfred!"

Crap, he really should have been paying attention. "Oh? Yeah?"

"Tell me _you _know."

"Yeah, uh, forty-two."

The class started to snicker, and the teacher swept the room with a stern glare. "No, Alfred, it's not forty-two. The answer I was looking for was 'both.'" She turned around to draw a quick sketch on the white board. Alfred lifted his glasses to pinch at his eyes. "Decomposers may be on the bottom of the food chain, but in the end, if you think about it...

"When we die, they are the ones that take care of things. Think of a farmer digging up their crops."

Or an angel reclaiming a soul.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

* * *

"It's...the eighth installment, right?"

"The seventh. They didn't even start making the eighth one yet, dummy. You don't know your movies."

"Shut up, Al. What's _really _the difference? After the forth one, they all started to look the same."

Alfred gasped, betrayed from his brother's words. His own flesh and blood. "There is _so_ a difference!"

Some of his friends snickered as they hurried to the front doors like the teachers could pull them back if they didn't flee the building ASAP. Matthew dissented, "No, there really isn't! They're all about stealing drugs and racing cars in every single movie."

"Not _every _movie!"

One of his friends said, "It's something you have to watch from the beginning."

Alfred laughed at his brother rolling his eyes. "Ha, see? Even she knows."

"You ass."

They all bunched into their hoodies and scarves as they met the outside air. Every time he was about to step out of school, Alfred expected warm weather to say hello after all those months of icky black sludge covering the road, and every time, he was disappointed. It wasn't even the middle of February yet, so Happy Spring Times had to wait, but at least the skies were clear. For now.

One of the girls said, "Maybe we'll get a bad snow storm at the end of our vacation, so we could stay home even longer!"

"No way!" Alfred shook his head in disgust. "We'd have to make it up at the end of the year!"

"But it'd be warm!"

"I don't want to go to school during the Summer."

"Fair point."

One of the 'bros' asked, "Is that Arthur?"

Alfred's eyes immediately jumped around. Arthur was across the street, leaning against the traffic pole with his arms crossed and a pissy look they could see from the school parking lot. Matthew answered for them, "Yes, it is."

Alfred gave him a weird look. "Yeah, so I'll see you guys."

"I'll be picking up stuff at the quick mart."

One of the other guys asked, "How'd he get there from the special-ed room so fast? I swear that guy is like magic."

A girl gasped, "Maybe he's a wizard! Ooh!"

Alfred stepped to the curb and said over his shoulder, "Halloween passed, you guys."

"Yeah, whatever. Go hang out with your special-ed coven."

Alfred's mouth popped open.

"Don't get ran over now, Alfie!"

"Cougar chaser!"

Alfred flipped his friends off before darting across the intersection. "Hey, Artie!"

Arthur pushed from the light pole and curtly nodded. "Afternoon."

Alfred puffed his chest out, and lowered his voice. "Afternoon. Sir." He deflated, giggling, "How are ya?"

"Fine."

Alfred didn't know why he asked anymore. "Cool. We going people watching?"

"A soul was due soon."

"Oh. Reaper time."

"No," Arthur let out a heavy sigh and slowly swung his head back and forth. "I already took care of it. Weren't you paying attention."

It didn't sound like a question Alfred should answer. "Aw, I'm sorry, Grumpy Gums. Let's do something fun!"

Arthur stared with vague haunt in his eyes.

Alfred jigged side-to-side, urging, "Maybe some bingo with old people?"

"There isn't a game playing."

"Play in traffic?"

"Seriously?"

"Throw rocks at birds?"

"Alfred!"

"I'm kidding! They're like your cousins. I wouldn't do that."

"Why, because we both have _wings_?" A pair of students hurried by, and Arthur clamped his mouth shut. "Perhaps you should go home."

"Come on! Don't say that!" As soon as his classmates backs' were turned, Alfred saddled up to Arthur's side and crept an arm around his waist to guide him closer to the community buildings. "You're just saying that. You don't _really _want me to go home already, do you?"

Arthur exclaimed in disgust as he brushed Alfred away.

Yikes.

Maybe he _did _really want Alfred to go home.

Maybe he just needed some cheering up to get out of angel-reaper mode!

"We were going over the 'hierarchy of nature' in science class! I was thinking you'd be the big bird eating the small bird. Then again, that'd kind of be cannibalism, wouldn't it?"

Arthur didn't laugh.

Tough crowd.

Alfred poked the spot between his glorious eyebrows. "Although, these babies would be something entirely on their own. Probably off in the woods, munching on leaves, huh?"

"Alfred-"

"Just like caterpillars!" Alfred goaded the pink deepening on Arthur's cheeks, "What are they going to look like when they decide to break free and turn into butterflies?"

Arthur smacked his hand away, really hard, actually. "What the bloody Hell is wrong with you?!"

Alfred cradled his abused hand to his chest. "Whoa, hey, I was just kidding around."

"I don't want kidding around, Alfred. I'm not in the mood. I just want to go back to the motel."

"We could go back to the motel! Man, some tea sounds _great _right now!"

"Alone."

"But-"

"Alfred."

Alfred craned his head back to the skies and sighed to the Heavens. "What's with you today, dude?!"

"It was the girl! I reaped the girl, Alfred!"

"Wha..." Alfred blinked, bringing himself back down to Earth. "Oh. Did her mom come by before...you know..."

"Yes."

"Okay, but I thought you were telling me that everybody had to go eventually. 'Some sooner than others-'"

Arthur snapped, "Well, forgive me for having a heart!" He started to stomp away in a random direction.

"Hey! Come on, Artie!" Alfred hurried after him. It wasn't even the way to the Bonnefoy house, either. "Old man! Dang, how are you moving so fast?"

Arthur suddenly stopped and spun around, almost in Alfred's face. Alfred took a startled step back. "I told you I'm not in the mood for you to be an idiot today. I don't want to kid around. I don't want to play bingo. I don't want to drink tea! You're still breathing, you're fine, so why don't you fuck off while I go somewhere else for the time being?"

No tea? Damn, Artie must be really feeling it right now! "But I wasn't-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Arthur held a hand up to Alfred's mouth. "No."

Alfred tipped is head back. "You-"

"Hush already!" It was kind of funny how Arthur flapped his arms. "Stop babbling like an idiot and just go home already!"

"Why do you have to keep calling me an idiot?"

Arthur scoffed and crossed his arms. "Are you serious?"

Alfred glanced side-to-side and held his hand out in a confused manner.

"Old man. Eyebrows. Cougar? _Bird?!_" Arthur's voice rose and rose and his face got red and redder. Alfred took a step back like he was about to explode into a mess of feathers. "How about I call you Mole because of how blind you are? It sure sucks not being able to see like a _normal _person without glass in front of your face, doesn't it, you blind bat? Or what about that...that thing that's always sticking up from your head? Get some hair gel on it already! Rude, how about it?! It's like you shouldn't pick out things people can't help but be born with!"

Arthur finally shut up.

"Holy shit, dude. Take a breather. I'm only joking around-"

"Oh, it's a joke!" Arthur actually stomped his foot at Alfred. "What the Hell kind of joke is that?!"

"Arthur, come on, I was just trying to cheer you up! It's what friends do you know-"

Arthur turned his back on him. "Well, maybe I'm not all that of a good friend I'm built up to be." Alfred froze. Arthur's voice was low and eerily calm now, "Just stop this already."

"Arthur?"

"You're making things difficult for the both of us. Go home. It's for the best."

"What-"

Arthur stalked off.

"What the fuck does that mean?!" Alfred shouted after him. Arthur didn't turn around. Of course not. Al turned toward a stop sign and kicked its pole, yelping as he hurt his toes and backed away. That stress between his eyes took a swing, full force this time, and wetness suddenly ran down his cheeks. He quickly shook his head, pawing at his face as he stumbled off the curb, flinching and swerving back on the sidewalk as a car honked and sped by him.

Alfred scorned his eager tear ducts. He was super manly and emotionally stable and drank his milk, so he couldn't start bawling like a baby because _someone_ said a few choice words to him. After all, he was indeed blind as a bat without those glasses. His jaw started to tremble with pressure rising from his throat.

"The fuck did that mean?" Alfred blubbered, dragging his feet against concrete as something inside him felt like it popped. He stuck the back of his hand to his face and started sobbing. Stop it. Freaking stop it already, he inwardly yelled at the tears but they just kept pouring out like there was no time to cry tomorrow.

Alfred really did try to lighten the mood with a few caterpillar-brow jokes, but a century old being from Heaven itself that soars the skies and heals cracked ribs with one touch is freaked out by mention of his eyebrows. Who knew?

No, that face, those words, they were so ugly on Arthur. What if those feelings have been long inside him and rotting, bound to spill over eventually? Al swiped his sleeve beneath his glasses, gazing distantly at the stretch of gray concrete ahead of himself. Maybe he _should _have not joked around with the angel. Maybe Alfred was a chore to him from the start and never anything more. Maybe they were never friends.

"Young man?" Someone put a hand on Alfred's shoulder, making him nearly leap out of his skin. "Oh!" An old woman exclaimed as he spun around. "Are you all right?"

Alfred swiped a hand under his nose, sniffled, and vigorously nodded. "Yeah! Hopefully!" He hurried in the direction of his house. That was a whole waste of time for the both of them, huh? To dream and daydream about escaping the norm and helping people, even if it was moments before their deaths?

Alfred snorted and swished a hand, dismissing the dead butterflies that wanted to chew up his stomach. "Whatever, you're the idiot, calling me an idiot. If I'm such an idiot, why don't you just do your fucking job and zap my brains out already? _You're _making this harder for the both of us!"

Of course, the thin air had no response. Alfred marched down the rest of the street, eyes and cheeks red and puffy, but kept his head high. At least until he got to his house and slammed the front door shut.

"Stupid, jerk, acting like you have no feelings!" Alfred peeled off his book bag, and kicked it across the living room as another onslaught of tears ran down his face. At least he didn't sob again. He plopped right in the middle of the couch, and snatched the gaming controller from the coffee table. "No wants, no dreams, no freaking control over yourself!"

Alfred tore off his glasses as his game loaded, and swiped his sleeve over his face. "Come on," he told himself, "get a grip." He scrunched his stuffy nose at the tears and snot soaked into the arms of his favorite hoodie, and decided to just peel it off and toss it to the other side of the couch. He pushed his glasses back on his face, and his fingers danced menacingly on his controller as he clicked to replay that level with the white birds flapping and squawking all over the screen.

"Yeah, that's right."

Alfred shot one of the birds, and it exploded into a mess of white feathers. "Fuck yeah, that was cool." Destroying little virtual lives cooled the immediate anger, but there was that lurking gloom left behind. He took a pause from his bird-annihilating spree to lean his head on the back of the couch and let his heavy eyelids close.

A loud squawk freaked Alfred out, making his arms and legs thrash against the couch, but it was the game replaying his wicked victories. He laughed a bit too hard from the pounding of his heart, but it quickly died under the weight of the frown creeping onto his face. He wanted to be happy again.

Movement caught his eye, and Alfred peeled himself from the back of the couch as Matthew lingered in the doorway. He didn't even hear him come home. "Hey, there, Mattie. What's...up?"

"Hey." Matthew took a step forward. Stopped. Then hurried around the couch and settled on the cushion beside him. "I didn't think you were going to be home-"

"Change of plans!" Alfred smacked his palm to his knee before gesturing to the screen to distract his brother from staring at his face. "Come on, I've been waiting for you to get home. You got the stuff?"

Matthew wiggled excitedly as he plopped a plastic bag onto the coffee table. "Hell, yeah, I got the stuff!" Alfred had to grin at the bright boxes and soda bottles tumbling in front of them. Mattie grabbed a particular box, "Before anything, I'm taking the malt balls."

Alfred shot his arm out to catch a bottle rolling off the table. "Sure, Mattie, but _I'm _going to be Player 1."

"As always." Matthew giggled as they settled back and grabbed their controllers. Alfred knew he was still staring from the corner of his eye, so he scooted closer and squished their shoulders together to shrug off everything for a little bit. Mattie was a decent bird-destroyer, but he was a far more challenging driver, and Alfred needed a petty challenge.

"Mm!" Alfred accused as their cars shot from the checkered line, "Dirty from the start!"

"You know dirty?" Matthew jabbed an elbow into his side, getting a soft spot.

Alfred _may _have let out a squeak. "Hey! That _is _dirty!"

Matthew's vehicle sped ahead as Alfred swerved too much. Despite being in the lead, Matthew grumbled something, but Al was too worried about getting back on track...literally.

"Fuck!" Alfred's virtual vehicle crashed into a tree, and his screen went dark. "I bailed out."

Matthew scrambled to his feet and waved his arms like an idiot. "Yeah! I won!"

Alfred grabbed his side, making _him _squeak and Matthew plopped onto the sofa again. "You got lucky that round." He stood up to stretch, a good attempt to shoo the numb feeling in his limbs. "I'm going to get a couple of napkins so we don't get our controllers dirty. You want anything from the kitchen?"

Matthew smiled up at him. "Nah, I'm fine."

Alfred found himself smiling again, too, but his trip to the kitchen wasn't notable. He came back and slapped a pile of napkins on his brother's head. "You ready for another round, dude?"

"Hold on!" Matthew put the napkins on the table and dug around in his candies. "Let me get some stuff before you suck it all down."

"You suck." Alfred snagged some chocolate from Matthew and tossed it at his face. Some little pieces missed and bounced to the floor.

"Bro," Matthew gestured to the poor things, "seriously?"

"Bro!" Alfred plucked them right from the carpet and popped them into his mouth. They may have been playing for a long while now, as it should be getting close to supper time.

"Where's Dad?"

"In his office. Again." Alfred twisted side-to-side, patting his jeans pocket, then the couch. "Where's my phone?"

"What do you mean? Isn't it in your pocket?"

"No!" Alfred did the process again, only to stop and scratch his head. "I swear I tossed it on the couch." He shrugged and took comfort in more candy. "Whatever, man. It doesn't matter now."

Matthew kept quiet to nibble on a piece of chocolate. Alfred tipped a now empty cardboard box and made a face-gone already-and tossed it back on the table before settling against the couch again. The quiet wasn't too bad. He could see why Mattie liked it more than listening to obnoxious people, but sometimes it gets awkward when thoughts and Feelings started to speak in place of the silence.

Thankfully, Matthew must have had something to say. "Hey, Al?"

Alfred answered right away, "Yeah?"

Matthew took a long inhale before slowly turning in his direction, but didn't exactly look at him. Serious Time. "Did you...did you and Arthur have a fight?"

How the Hell did Matthew know that? Fight wasn't even the word for it. Annihilation, more like. Alfred swiped a hand over his mouth for any stray crumbs, and couldn't help the sarcasm, "Oh, by a fight, you mean that he totally freaked out because of a joke I made?"

"Really? What was the joke?"

"I told him that his eyebrows looked like caterpillars and I asked him what'd they look like after they would turn into butterflies."

Matthew tipped his head, but let out a little laugh. "Uh..."

Alfred pushed from the back of the sofa to gesture wildly, "See? See! It was funny. I tried telling him that, but instead he started to bitch." And other...mean things...

Matthew gave him a funny smile as he grabbed a bottle of soda, and said, "I'm used to your humor, Al. I can see why he got offended."

Alfred could, too. "Yeah, but over a little joke? I mean, come on." He dug around for even more candy, but stopped his half-hearted search when his stomach started doing try-outs for gymnastics. "He's so freaking hot-headed, it's like walking on coals every time we talk. Nasty old man."

"Oh." The twins grew quiet for a long moment. Alfred crossed his arms and flopped into the sofa again. There was the itch to start tearing up again, but honestly, he was too tuckered out for that. Not to mention his brother was sitting right there.

"Hey," Matthew tapped Alfred's leg, looking all serious, "if he really bugs you that much, then don't feel obligated to stick around just because he saved your life." Alfred grew a bit dumbfounded as his brother swished his hands, speaking quicker, "I mean, you thanked him, helped him out with...whatever, gave him some time, but if it's not working out-"

Alfred let out a lazy laugh, "No, man, that's not it. Sure, that's what got us talking, but..."

"But what?"

Even though he was chilling, relaxed against the squishy couch cushions, Alfred's heart started to race again. "I like hanging out with him. I like what he does. But he's so uptight, and just needs to let loose and chill out once in a while. There's more to this than...what he does, and I want him to realize that! I want to make him feel good." Alfred reeled a bit, "Like, be friends with him!"

Matthew turned his head away, probably snickering, but Alfred already felt beyond stupid. He snatched more candy and chomped on it to show who's boss, but he swore Mattie mumbled something over all the crunching.

Alfred asked a bit sharply, "What'd you say?"

Matthew gave him a startled look. "I didn't say anything."

Alfred was now ready to pass on from his bountiful collection of embarrassment. "Oh."

Another stretch of silence, a moment for his poor heart laid to waste. Matthew turned on him again, and blurted, "I think you should give him a call."

Alfred smacked a hand to his chest as a cheeseball lodged in his throat. If being mortified didn't do it, choking would have to take him out. He shook his head, roughly swallowing, and squawked, "Why would I do that?!"

Matthew was totally calm about the situation. "So you can explain things and make up. He might have cooled off by now."

"He _might _have?!" Just like Arthur _might _smite his brains all over the wall, he _might _sit down and talk like a civilized adult?! "That's like jumping into a pool and saying there's no alligators!"

"Uh...pools don't usually have alligators..."

Alfred was very knowledgeable on this subject, "This one does!"

Matthew clicked his tongue and patted the couch cushions. "Let's go. I'm going to find your phone, and you're going to call him back."

Alfred scrambled off the couch like it was a hot potato, but made sure to bring a bag of cheesy poofs for comfort. "Mattie! No!"

Matthew ignored the desperate plea, and pulled Alfred's phone from beneath the cushions, holding it in the air like it was an offering. "Look, he already called you. _Twice._"

"Ugh!" Alfred snagged his phone before Matthew would snoop. "You are so not cool." Matthew smiled like he won an award, but he really deserved a smack down. The phone buzzed again, and Alfred bawked in horror at the name and emoji's on the screen, "He's calling again!"

"Pick it up?"

"But he-"

"Al, seriously!" Matthew leaped to his feet and made a fist, "Or I'll do it!"

"No! No!" Alfred fled the living room before things could get worse. "That's okay!" He let out a shaky sigh before pressing the answer button. "Uh, yeah? Hi?" He cleared his throat, appalled at himself for sounding so lame. "I mean, what's up?"

"Alfred, you fucking idiot. Now you're fucking ignoring me?!"

Looks like Alfred was right. There were still alligators swarming the pool and they were snapping their long snouts right at him. "Seriously?! Did you call me just to yell at me again?!"

"Well, you're rude, and you pissed me off!"

"I tried to say that it was a joke earlier, but you wouldn't have any of it!"

"I was in a bad mood earlier!"

Alfred grumbled to himself as he paced around the kitchen, "What else is new?"

"What's up with my eyebrows anyway, huh? I've seen worse! Some people don't have any at all, so there!"

"Wait, _that_ is what is bugging you the most?!" Alfred slapped a palm to his forehead, bursting in bewildered laughter. "Oh, my God, dude..."

"Stop laughing, brat. You're very rude and I don't know why you must constantly pester me on something so _ridiculous _like..._eyebrows._ Sad."

"You know, because caterpillars are fuzzy and cute!" Alfred cringed, and quickly righted himself, "I'm not calling you cute, though!"

At least the fight died in Arthur's voice. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Well, you don't make any sense, either!"

"Be quiet and get your arse over here. I'm at Main Street Café."

"Wait...really?!" Alfred let his voice jump five pitches from excitement and happiness and all that fun jazz flooding back into his soul. "You'd still want to...?"

"Just get over here already, and maybe then we'll talk. Don't make me wait."

The other line went dead.

Alfred peeled his phone from his ear and dashed into the living room, hollering at the top of his lungs, "Mattie!" There was nobody on the couch. "Mattie?"

"Right behind you."

Alfred spun around, but couldn't stop grinning. "Yo! You got to stop that!"

Matthew shook his head, "I wasn't doing anything. What happened?"

"You know how me and Artie were going to hang out earlier, but then we..." Alfred swished his hands, and almost tumbled over his words, "Yeah! I'm going to do that now, and when I come back, we'll game the rest of the weekend away, okay!" He spun around and grabbed his hoodie and a bag of cheeseballs from the couch.

Matthew started to dissent, "But Al!"

"Rest of the weekend, bro!" Alfred shoved his over shirt into place, and butted his brother's shoulder as he went for the front door. "I got to get to Arthur _now, _you know, while there's no alligators in the pool!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

* * *

Alfred ran through half the town, from his house to the mini-café like his butt was on fire. The couple that were on his side of the sidewalk got one good look at him flailing his legs behind himself like who-knows-what, and hurried across the street with freaked out glances over their shoulders. He didn't even slow down when he spotted a glowing figure lingering around the coffee shop.

Arthur turned his head, bracing in surprise at Alfred's sudden appearance, only to yell as Alfred slammed into him, throwing his arms around his waist, and plucked him clean off of the ground. Artie was pretty light, and it was really fun spinning around in circles and making him holler in fright, right in front of the big windows of the café with all those people staring from inside.

Alfred plunked him down, getting dizzy, but kept his arms latched around Arthur's so he couldn't go anywhere. "Okay, okay," Arthur started to wreathe against him, but Al just squeezed a bit tighter. "Good Lord! Settle down!"

"I missed you," Alfred blurted. With a silent groan, he scrunched his nose at himself, and buried his face into the floofy scarf Arthur had around his neck. "Sorry, man."

"What? You saw me earlier..."

"It's not what I mean."

At least Arthur stopped squirming. "Then what do you mean, Alfred?"

A simple, 'Oops, my bad,' probably wouldn't cut it, even if it wasn't his bad, or everything was both of their bads. Alfred peeked at the cars parked along the road, then to the sky where storm clouds started to loom, then to the cracks in the old concrete, and smiled at how nice it felt for his heart to beat against Arthur's chest.

"That caterpillar-brow joke was kind of lame."

"Hmph."

Oh, great. "I was just trying to cheer you up, you know. Um...your eyebrows are actually pretty cool. Even if they _do _look like caterpillars."

Arthur scoffed, "I suppose I'm just going to have to let that one slide."

Alfred's eyes went wide as his friend started to graze his hands in circles against his back. "Yeah, I _suppose _you do."

"And I suppose I _may _have let wrath overtake me for a moment or two..."

"Or five."

Arthur gave Alfred's biceps a squeeze as he made a move to pull away a little too soon. "Oh, shut it."

Yeah, maybe it was time to stop the hourly-long bro-hugging session (plus backrubs!), but Alfred had to say, "No, seriously, though, if you're having a bad day, don't take it out on me or anybody else if it's not their fault, okay?"

"That's fair." Arthur pointed out calmly, "You must learn to read the atmosphere as well. If I don't want jokes, then hold it for later."

"Ha-ha, yeah...that's not the first time I heard that."

Arthur rolled his eyes, but everything felt okay again.

Alfred blurted, "See how much easier it is when we just talk things out?!"

He swore he saw one of Arthur's eyebrows twitch. "Yes, Alfred. It is, isn't it?"

Alfred glanced into the café, and people at the window table were obviously snickering at them. He tucked himself deeper into his hoodie like a turtle. "Do...do you still want to hang out? Maybe...head inside? Get some coffee...or something? It's kind of cold."

"Good idea. I'm here, now, aren't I?" Arthur dug around his own jacket and pulled out a card and a big grin on his face. _The _gift card from that bingo game. "_I'll _pay."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Some people have _awful _staring problems," Arthur was muttering on the way out. Too crowded in there, he claimed, why linger.

"Maybe it's your-" Alfred cut himself off right there.

"What." Arthur poured a furious scowl onto him, but Al kept his face forward. "What were you going to say?"

Alfred refused to respond.

Arthur let out a little snort, "You were going to say it was my eyebrows, weren't you?" Surprisingly, he was only a teeny snippy about it, "Did you ever stop and think that they were staring at your face instead?"

Alfred puckered his lips, trying not to snicker. "What's up with my face, Artie?"

Arthur turned his attention to the road. "Ah, nothing..."

"Nothing?" Now Alfred couldn't help but smile as he gently shouldered Arthur, who nearly stumbled off the sidewalk. Okay, it was somewhat gentle. "Man, that must mean they just couldn't keep their eyes off my _gorgeous _face!"

"Oh, please!"

"What! You don't think so?"

Arthur gave him that sour glare that meant he was fighting not to smile, too. "You. Why ask this 'old geezer' about outward appearances?"

"Aw, Artie," Alfred bumped their shoulders together again, much lighter this time so Arthur wouldn't go flying (figuratively or not). "Don't say that! You look hot - uh, fuck!" He trampled over his words so a cluster of WTF wound up coming out of his face. Arthur did a double take, probably thinking he just an aneurism. "I mean, you're not...ugly."

"I never said I was, but...thanks."

Alfred bumped his fist into Arthur's bicep. "Sure thing, my dude!" Didn't he say he was going to stop talking forever? When was forever going to start? Then, maybe he'd have to pick up sign language, until he'd start making funny gestures with that, too. He glanced to the side.

Arthur was smiling all happily and stuff at him. "What are you thinking about, Alfred?"

Alfred's innards started to knot like he ate a funky batch of tater tots. Luckily, his foot caught onto a large divot in the sidewalk, so that was a minor distraction. "Whoa! I'm thinking they need to patch up these potholes! I'm tripping!" He thoroughly scolded the sidewalk, "I could've dropped my coffee!"

"I guess the sidewalk would be drinking it."

Alfred grunted in agreement and decided he could keep quiet until they reached the motel. As Arthur struggled with the lock and dropped his keys, cussing about that, Al glanced over to one of the neighbors several doors down hanging damp clothes on hangers, using the porch's high beams. It seemed a little too cold for that, but maybe she liked cold, stiff clothes. She paused to eye the pair with a pissy look on her face, and they hurried inside as soon as the door opened.

"Paradise!" Alfred hollered. Arthur looked traumatized. "What?"

"What sort of creature did I let into my home?"

Alfred shrugged. He rushed to the bed, slapped his cup on the nearest nightstand, and peeled off his hoodie with a conflicting, "Hey! Turn on the heat!"

Without reply, he glanced around the room. Arthur was gone. "Really? Playing magician again?"

A head of messy blond hair popped out of the bathroom. "Could I have a moment to get dressed?"

"Agh, you look fine." Alfred flopped belly first onto the bed.

"No! Off!"

"Huh, what?"

"Shoes! Off!"

Arthur ducked back into the bathroom. Alfred rolled his eyes and kicked off his sneakers, wherever they landed. They were off the bed now, so...

After patting the pillows and slapping the comforter, he realized, "Dang, I want to take a nap."

Maybe decaf wasn't a good idea.

The mattress dipped and groaned a moment before Arthur grabbed at his neck.

"Doesn't bother me," Alfred said without opening his eyes. "Your hands aren't really cold right now."

Arthur leaned over him. That made Alfred pick up his head in surprise before a hot cup was against his face. "Hey, ow!" He jerked away and rubbed his cheek, "So you burn me instead? Psycho." He stared at the wings that were now out, sprouting from Arthur's nightshirt and down to the bed. "Psycho angel."

"Don't flatter me." Arthur played around with the coffee lid, and his wings gave a little twitch as the lid popped off. "Let's..." He flinched as soon as the coffee made contact with his lips. "Good Lord!" Alfred smiled. "Would you like some coffee with your sugar?"

"What, can't handle a bit of sweetness, you bitter tea-drinker?"

Arthur smacked the hand that made its way to his feathers and took another swig, cringed, and decided that was enough of that and put the cup back onto the end table. "I can handle it just fine, thank you."

"Liar, liar, eyebrows on fire."

Arthur flicked his nose and smirked, "Fucker."

"Whoa, hey!" Alfred held his hands up, "You're supposed to be an angel of the Lord!"

"I am. And?"

"You have terrible potty mouth!"

"And?"

"Seriously, dude?"

Arthur shrugged, and looked around his small apartment. "Where did I put my cup? Oh, Hell, over there?" He shambled off the bed, leaving Alfred to whistle in disbelief. Despite leaving his drink on the kitchen counter, Artie walked right by it to dig around the cabinets.

"What'cha doing?" Alfred asked. Arthur had a bottle in his hands, and whatever it was, he dumped it into his cup from the café. "What'd you just put in there?!"

"Aren't you curious?" With obnoxious flair, Arthur abandoned whatever cursed mixture he just made and crawled on the bed to shake a big bottle of what looked to be apple juice. "It's whiskey. Good stuff. Not that you would know."

Based on the stench wafting from the top, it wasn't actually good stuff. "Huh? Okay..."

Arthur clutched the bottle, leaning away from Alfred like he would make a move to steal it. "After all my headaches today, I think I deserve a nice, little drink." He proceeded to throw his head back and gulp down like, fifty drinks.

"Uh...you're not an alcoholic, are you?"

Arthur pulled the bottle from himself, whipping his head side-to-side and smacking his lips. "What, a man enjoys a drink every now and again, and suddenly he's an alcoholic? Just for that...!" Arthur threw down some more.

Alfred rubbed his forehead, starting to feel prickly and hot, unsure what to make of it all. "Oh, my God."

His Dad kept some bottles of wine and vodka above the fridge to 'ease the imagination' some nights. Alfred never eased his own imagination, but Matthew confessed he tried to once, like a year or two ago, but spat it back out.

Alfred watched the bottle rock side-to-side as Arthur smiled and played with it like a kid with a toy car. "Are we going to do anything? Besides, you know, watching you drink. It's not really that great on my end."

Arthur's moment of peace shattered as he sneered, "I'd give you some, but you're underage."

Alfred pouted at the bottle. It probably wasn't that great. "Some places, the drinking age is eighteen!"

"Yes, but this isn't one of those places, now is it?"

"Aw, crap, that's right..." It probably, _really _didn't taste that good...

The bottle was almost empty, and Arthur was doing nothing better than fiddling with it and tugging on a loose string in his quilt. Alfred easily plucked it from his hands and dumped the rest of it in his mouth. He turned to set the bottle on the nightstand, but doubled over as his throat clenched. It tasted worse than it smelled. He knew it. "Holy shit," he wheezed from the burning sensation spreading across his chest. "Th-there, you're all done now."

Arthur cackled instead of being offended by the petty theft. Alfred's entire face puckered as his eyes watered. "Oh, oh! Are you crying?"

"Yeah! Crying because that was disgusting!"

"Hmph! You drink juice for the taste, greenhorn. That ought to teach you from thieving."

"Yeah?" Alfred reached behind himself. "This should teach you not to be such a boring old crow!" He smacked Arthur right on top of his head with a pillow.

Wings and legs went everywhere. "Don't do that!" Arthur grabbed for anything, but he got a pillow case to the face instead. "Stooooooooop it! These are delicate!"

"They're pillows!" Alfred held one up like a shield when Arthur lamely swung his hands at him. "They're old and crusty. Like you."

Arthur shoved the pillow, then gave up. "You're...you think I'm an old and crusty man?" He shook his head, muttering to himself, "I don't even know what that means. How can someone be crusty?"

"Nah, Artie, you may be old, but you're not crusty...yet." Alfred put the pillow down with a sigh, and reached for his coffee to get that heavy taste out of his mouth. "Come on, what are we going to do? I'm booooooored."

"Uh...here," Arthur held out a fist. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Alfred almost busted into laughter and set his cup back down. "Seriously? You don't have _anything _to do around here?"

"Yes, I do! We could watch TV, or..." Arthur had to look around his own apartment. "I think I still have that chessboard around somewhere." He grew snippy, "I'm out and about most of the time, all right? Responsibilities come over play time."

_Work, come home, sleep, work, come home, sleep. _Realization pinged Alfred right on the nose. "No play time, huh? That's why you keep coming back to bingo, video games, playing teacher, all that stuff." A big grin got the best of him. "You like it. Just admit it! It's better than drinking the night away!"

"What?" Of course Arthur bristled at the aspect of reality knocking on that thick skull of his. "What in the world are you blabbering about all of a sudden?"

Alfred smacked the mattress with both hands, voice getting quick, "You said that some angels are rock stars! They could be anything! And they did that because they could work! But they enjoy themselves, too!"

"And? What sort of revelation are you reaching for here?"

Alfred pointed right into Arthur's face. "You're enjoying yourself! You're finally doing things you want to do instead of what you have to do!"

Arthur scoffed and jerked his head away. "What, getting drunk and listening to you be an idiot?" He tossed his eyes around, but the crease between his eyebrows softened. "I suppose it's not bad."

"Aha, got you!"

"Yes, don't you have me in a tight spot? What ever will I do?" Like a threatened owl, Arthur's wings uncurled from his back as he leered closer. "What sort of weakness are you trying to exploit from me, Alfred?"

The stench of whiskey clung to his breath. Alfred laughed off the fact that his personal space was being breached in a totally unthreatening way. "I'm not sitting here, twirling my moustache like some kind of villain! This is a good thing! It'd have to hit you in the head for you to get it, though, wouldn't it, Artie?"

Arthur yanked away to plop on his butt again, arms crossed and glaring at an uninteresting wall. "Oh, fuck off."

"Ha-ha, you don't take defeat prettily, do you?" Arthur didn't respond. Alfred goaded in an obnoxious baby-voice, "Aw, come on, buddy. No fun time for you. You eat nails for breakfast."

"That's right. They're hard and metallic, like my soul."

"Like your...dude! Ha-ha!"

"Without milk."

Alfred doubled over in laughter, wheezing, "Are you serious?" Arthur kept a straight face, making him laugh even harder. "Oh, man! You sound like, emo or something! 'Without milk.' Ha-ha-ha...!" He peeled off his glasses to swipe at watery eyes, the good kind of watery. "You're not emo, are you?"

"If I am?"

"Hee-hee-ha-ha! Stop it! Emo angel!"

That actually got Arthur to crack a smile. "Some angels are rockstars. They could be emo, too."

"Arthur!" Alfred welcomed himself to sprawl over Arthur's legs and laugh like a maniac. "Emo rockstar-angels!" He wiped a palm over his face, still giggling, "Rockstar angels...woo..."

A cool hand brushed against Alfred's forehead, sending goose bumps across his body, and he finally calmed down. Those pajama bottoms Arthur wore were actually pretty cozy against his cheek. Thin, silky. He closed his eyes as gentle nails scraped through his hair, smiling when Arthur let out a short hum, like he was thinking. This was good stuff. Good Feelings. No yelling.

"It's all good?"

"Hm, what?"

"How are you feeling, Artie? Better?" Alfred looked up, although Arthur's face was a little fuzzy. "Honest."

"Watching you act like an idiot has livened up the mood considerably."

"But I thought earlier you were mad at me for being an idiot. How's that make sense?"

Arthur flicked Alfred's nose, getting him somewhat irked. "It doesn't have to make sense, idiot."

Alfred reached up for retaliation, but wound up awkwardly petting Arthur's jaw. "Hey, quit calling me an idiot. I'm noooooot."

"Ah, well..." Arthur leaned back, propping a hand on his bed, and let out a little hiccup. "Hm, fuck, I don't..." An annoyed grunt. "Be quiet, idiot."

Alfred whined, "I'm not."

"Fine, you..._hic, _you...you just act like an idiot. Yeah." Arthur leaned forward again, cupping both hands on Alfred's cheeks and squished them together. "That's what makes you an idiot."

Alfred giggled against the cool palms squeezing and pushing on his face, "I'm so confused."

"Just look at you. You are absolutely imperfect. _On purpose, _no less." Arthur laughed, but it was more to himself than somebody else. His hands went easy, tracing up along Alfred's cheekbone and over his eyes, with the other hand cupping his chin, and Alfred felt totally chill about it. "We were told to love you the most despite it all, and we did. To love you beautiful idiots. Out of duty, out of devotion for our own. That's it." He repeated, "It is out of duty. It _is _supposed to be out of duty, isn't it? Is it out of duty?"

God, the attention was like Heaven. It _was _Heaven. Alfred pointed out, voice lulled to a whisper, "You keep saying dooty."

Arthur tapped Alfred's lower lip with his thumb, and sighed, "Beautiful idiots..."

"You're an idiot, too."

"You're an idiot for suggesting that."

Alfred sniggled, nudging a hand when it grazed over his cheek, but didn't say much else. Legs diagonal along the bed, arms out on both sides, absolutely no reason to ever move again, he found it was easy to close his eyes, and wanted to stay against the caress of Arthur's skin for as long as possible.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

* * *

Alfred walked home alone The Morning After. He meant well; it's just that Arthur woke him up by repeatedly smacking his face with a pillow, mad about being hung-over, and that Alfred took up most of the bed...even though he wasn't the one with huge wings sprouting from his back. Then, they went different ways, mumbling goodbyes and avoiding eyes. It was still early, earlier then when Al usually would wake up, so he really just wanted to shed the jeans he wound up sleeping in, and lie down to soothe the slight squeezing sensation in his head.

Nobody was downstairs to ask questions, so Alfred crept into the kitchen to grab something thirst-quenching and high-tail himself to bed. The fridge had other plans, snapping shut before he could pull away. "Ow!" His legs danced as he flapped his hand. "Those were my fingers!"

As if yelling at the refrigerator would make it feel bad.

"Al," a sudden rasp made Alfred jump out of his skin. Matthew squinted from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

"Whoa, dude, you scared me!"

"I can tell."

Alfred scoffed as he cracked open a water bottle. "Why are you creeping around? Jeez."

"What happened to you?"

He pulled his bottle from his face to look down at his clothes. "I guess I stayed up all night?"

"_All night_?!"

"You sound like Dad." Matthew looked stupid, gawking like that. Alfred rolled his eyes. "I was with Arthur the whole time. Don't worry, we weren't sneaking away to do drugs or anything."

"Wha..."

Alfred shrugged. "I must have passed out, but it really wasn't for long, dude, so I'm going to go upstairs."

"Oh, so you two made up?"

"Yeah, but I got to watch out in case he tosses those alligators in the pool again!"

Matthew laughed after him. "Nice." Alfred figured that was it as his bro wandered to dig around the fridge, and started to make his way to the stairs. "Wait! Don't you want anything to eat?"

Alfred automatically stopped against the railing, stomach grumbling, 'Yes! Yes, yes!' If only Matthew would feed him while he was sleeping, two birds, one stone. "Nah, I think I'm just going to head to bed, before Dad wakes up."

"What? You're not hungry?"

Alfred called from the steps, "More tired than hungry!"

"W-wait!"

"Mattie, come on."

Matthew was in the doorway now. "We're still going to play video games later, right?"

"Dude," Alfred pleaded, "we can play them anytime. 's'not a big deal."

"But-but-"

Alfred dragged himself up the steps and shoved open his bedroom door before his brother could aggravate him anymore. He wiggled out of his pants as he walked over to his bed, his own bed, and plopped down face-first into the pillow, "I missed you, baby."

It was so quiet. It was so nice. Nice and quiet, and his own bed-

"Alfred..."

That couldn't be somebody bothering him already. There was a knock on his door. Alfred scrunched his face up, denying that his father was calling for him. "Alfred!"

Alfred didn't even get to the good part of sleep. "Just let me nap, man."

Francis was in his room now. "What in the world are you still doing in bed?!"

"Daaaaaaad." Alfred picked up his head, but it felt heavy, and he flopped against his pillow again. "I stayed up late. Can't I sleep for a little bit?"

"How late?" Alfred didn't respond, pleading with the angels for his Dad to leave him alone. "Ugh, fine!" His silent prayers worked. "You better be up by four! I have plans!"

Four in the afternoon? Hell yes, sleep.

~.~

~BOING!~

~.~

"Aw, shucks, sorry, Pops! If I knew you were going to be leaving tomorrow, I would have stayed home!"

Francis caught Alfred's arm as it reached for the fridge. Alfred almost jumped out of his skin, caught in his lie, but his Dad just said, "Don't eat anything! I have something special planned for the three of us tonight."

"Something special? Like food?"

"Of course!" Francis set his newspaper on the island counter. Yes, an old, inky newspaper. Alfred _guessed _they were still in circulation. "Matthew told me you ran off somewhere last night! Where were you?"

"What?!" Matthew did? The traitor. Alfred grabbed another water bottle and settled in the stool beside his father. "Ugh, yeah." He nonchalantly stuck the bottle to the side of his forehead. "I was hanging out with Artie. Arthur. It was just a sleepover, don't worry. We weren't running around, climbing fences and mugging people."

Francis gave him a bewildered look. "I-I would hope you would not do that, anyway."

Alfred groggily giggled, then squeezed his eyes shut as he pressed his water bottle a little harder against his face.

"What's wrong? Not enough sleep?"

"Yeah. Stayed up too late partying."

"Ah," Francis squeezed his son's shoulder, rumbling with laughter, "here I thought that Arthur was a good influence. Unless..." Alfred peeked at his Dad, who gave him that omniscient grin, "You're being the influence."

Yeah, maybe chugging the rest of that whiskey out of spite wasn't a good influence. Alfred ducked his head, turning his face away from Francis as it grew really warm. Francis picked up his paper, quietly _tsk_ing to himself, "My boy."

Alfred put down the water bottle, deciding to drink it instead and act like a normal person and not a hung-over teenager. "You're really leaving tomorrow? It seems like you just got here."

"_Aïe, _both of you!" Francis draped his arm around Alfred's shoulders and kissed his cheek. Alfred held his breath. "I shouldn't be gone too long this time, so be strong for the both of us."

Alfred nodded, and as soon as his Dad pulled away, he dumped the rest of his water in his mouth and swished it around. He stilled, listening to the silence, breathing in his father's perfume, glancing at the comics before he turned the page. Normal routine.

"I miss you, Dad. We really haven't gotten a lot of chances to talk ever since you came back."

Francis quickly glanced up, and Alfred could see he was gazing at him from the corner of his eye. "Alfred..." Alfred closed his eyes, smiling as his Dad got off his stool and wrapped his arms around him. "Look at you. You are a man now. There is going to be a lot of moments when we do not talk for a long time as you go out in the world and discover wonderful things and people that you love. They will steal you away from me, and that is okay. That is okay."

"Aw, come on." Alfred quickly blinked to fight those sappy, watery tears from creeping out and stuffed his face into Francis's shoulder to hide from the world for a moment. Just a moment, until his stomach groaned for attention. They pulled away, looking down in surprise until they both laughed all those tense feelings away. "I think my stomach is about to go out on it's own before I do! I need food! Quick!"

~.~

~BOING!~

~.~

A suit was a rare exchange for Alfred's jeans and hoodies, but any hater would be dead wrong if they said he didn't look good. Not that he was worrying about that. Food! Fancy restaurant food, to be exact.

Matthew was in a suit, too, and Alfred hoped he didn't look that distraught over it like his twin did. Their father finally spoiled where they were going - to that stiff and stuffy restaurant on the other side of town. They were way overpriced for a basket of chicken tenders and fries that Alfred was girding for, but Dad always seemed to enjoy the company of women in bedazzled dresses and obnoxiously large paintings of fruit.

They were sitting at a table, waiting (im)patiently for their food, and Francis tried Twenty Questions again, but the twins didn't have any of it, so he started making funny faces at the waitresses. Alfred felt his phone vibrate in his slacks, so he snuck a hand under the table to pull it out halfway to peek. From Arthur, _'Where are you right now' _No punctuation. Usually the big grump made sure of himself.

_'Lol why you wanna hang out?'_

"How is school going?"

Alfred and Matthew shared a mildly annoyed look, but Al said cheerfully, "Same thing, different day, Dad!"

"Of course," Francis chuckled, shaking his head. "What was I thinking when I asked that?"

Alfred sure didn't know. Another message. The waitress brought their salads, and Alfred tried to keep his eye on the food as their Dad smiled, but couldn't help a glance down. '_No.'_

_'Meanie brows'_

Matthew said, "I don't like school that much."

_'Where are you.'_

"Aw, you're almost done with it, Matthew." Francis turned his attention to Alfred, who made sure to look too busy with stuffing his face with salad.

_'I'm at a fancy-ass restaurant with Mattie and my Pops.' _Alfred tacked another text, _'You sure you don't wanna hang? Food's good.'_

"So, um, when do you think you're going to come back, Papa?"

"I have yet to know for certain." Francis narrowed his eyes. Alfred smiled, guilty, and took a few more gluttonous mouthfuls of greens. "I want to come home again around Spring."

Alfred blanched, tuning to the conversation. "A month?! Dude!"

Francis tossed some hair over his shoulder. "I am your father, Alfred. I rather you refer to me as such." He stared all sternly at Matthew, and Alfred used the opportunity to look down at his phone again. "I also do not want to hear about this..._boxed_ dinner atrocity again! Take control, Matthew!"

_'Artieeeee. Come on.'_

Matthew grumbled, "Yes, Papa."

Papa winked at the waitress when she approached to take their salad plates.

_'Not now,' _Arthur finally replied. _'Take your time.'_

Alfred scrunched his face, shaking his head in confusion. _'Wat. Then why you did you ask?'_

_'I'm busy.'_

He thoughtlessly put his elbows on the table to furiously type back, _'Doing what?'_

Francis turned his head in his direction, but luckily refills were in order to distract him. Arthur didn't respond fast enough, so Alfred started to spam him, _'Artieeeeeeeeeeee.'_

_'What are you doing?'_

_'Angel stuff?'_

_'Bruh.'_

Matthew actually said something, "Could you put that on silent?"

Arthur texted back,_ 'Yes! Angel stuff! Eat your food and stop bothering me!'_

Alfred hunched one shoulder up, not taking his eyes off the little bubbles dancing on his screen. "How will I know messages will come though?" Then to Artie, _'Don't make me run out and get you :P'_

Francis remarked, "You should not be sending e-mails at the table, anyway."

Alfred tossed his eyes when the text bubbles disappeared without response. "Dad, they're text messages, not e-mails."

"How am I to know the difference?"

Alfred sent a sad face. He must have not been giving Dad satisfactory gossip, as he started to interrogate Matthew. Somebody gave him flowers. Covered his room in them, actually.

The bubbles popped up again before Alfred could tease his brother, and his legs bounced under the table.

Matthew bumped their thighs together a little roughly, but said to Dad, "I still have to talk to him...them about it."

Alfred slouched to one side, gripping his hair when the little dots went away again.

Francis snickered and playfully clawed the air at Matthew, "Are you going to get them something, too? If you're lost on what to get, I have plenty of ideas."

Matthew was a bit cold, "I don't think that's necessary, Dad."

Finally, a decent chunk of text bubble came though. All caps, _'ALFRED DONT BE A FUCKING IDIOT STAY AT THE RESTAURANT AND EAT WITH YOUR FAMILY DO NOT COME OUTSIDE I WILL RIP YOU IN HALF.'_

"Wait, what?" Alfred wasn't sure if Arthur was even capable of ripping anybody in half, but...

_'Arthur what's going on. Come on tell me. Did someone die?'_

"What," Matthew was annoyingly snippy, "did you come across another scary picture because of your lurking?"

_'If you don't tell me-'_

Arthur interrupted whatever Alfred was texting,_ 'DEMON. YOU IDIOT. WILL HURT YOU.'_

Alfred thrashed, almost lunging over Matthew's lap, but Matthew just stared at him like there was no care in the world. At least, not from him. "Mattie! I got to go!"

"What?" Francis scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, Alfred. We have yet to eat dinner!"

Hm, dinner, or friend in potential danger? "I know, Dad, but..." Alfred couldn't leave Arthur alone when he was freaking out like that. He swished his hands, "Move, Mattie! Jeez!"

Alfred shoved himself over Matthew's lap since he was taking his sweetest time, and almost fell onto the floor. Francis leaped out of the booth and snagged the sleeve of his suit jacket. "Not so fast, young man! Where do you think you are running off to?!"

"Dad!" Alfred didn't even know. He wreathed, but Francis pulled back. Al really didn't want to throw his old man on the ground to escape. He pleaded, "It's important!"

"More important than spending one night with your family? I am going to be gone for over a month!"

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut, "I know, I know!" He didn't need to bring up their earlier conversation. Talk about terrible timing. He tore open the buttons of his jacket and slipped away. Francis cried out, and gave uncertain chase. Al called over his shoulder, "We'll talk on the phone or something! I _have _to go!"

"Alfred!"

Alfred wedged through a conga-line to the host's stand, getting angry hollers in return as he shoved open the front doors. He glanced side-to-side, hanging on the sidewalk as he ran a rough hand through his hair. He didn't even know where to go.

Wait, if Arthur was wondering where Alfred was, he must have noticed the Bonnefoy house was empty. Good enough. Alfred charged in that direction, sticking a hand in his pocket for his phone, and dialed Arthur's number.

The other line didn't even buzz twice before clicking. Alfred glimpsed down to check if Arthur denied the call, but the timer counted up. He slowed a bit to hold his phone to his ear, but Artie didn't say anything.

"Uh, Arthur?"

"Where. Are. You. Now."

"I just passed the gas station-"

"Bloody Hell!" Arthur's voice grew distant like he yanked his phone away. He came back, growling this time, "I fucking told you to stay in the restaurant! I told you! Get back there _now_!"

"But you said-"

Yelling now, "Get inside the gas station! Listen to me _for once _and get inside!"

"Where are you-"

"I'll be there shortly."

The dial tone droned. Alfred spun on his heel and hurried by the gas pumps. A car passed, and he jumped. He balled his fists inside his slack's pockets, ready to punch an unknown threat. Hopefully, it was something that could be punched.

The cashier sniffled and straightened against the counter, murmuring a good evening. Alfred flashed a cheap grin and nodded before wandering toward the back of the store. Goose bumps peaked beneath his clothing. It was stupid to leave his jacket behind. He stopped pacing to stare at his reflection in the window rather than focus on what was outside of it, which were gas pumps. Duh.

Alfred caught the cashier creeping between the shelves, fixing loose odds and ends, but obviously keeping an eye on him as he pulled out his phone. No new messages or calls. He gently dragged a hand though his hair as he watched the screen go dark, and started to try to smooth down stray strands fraying from his hair gel.

The lights flickered, and Alfred looked up, then to the cashier. She gawked at him for a moment, before her eyes drifted to something else. Someone else, outside. "_Pfft. _Always a bunch of weird people at this hour."

Alfred turned around, jumping again at the figure outside. Arthur was there, in front of the store and steadily glowering into the window a few feet away. The lights above their heads furiously blinked. Al nodded to the cashier. Maybe he should salute for a battle he knew he would not come back from. "Yeah, thanks."

Arthur remained rooted with his legs stunted apart, and shoulders hunched beneath his thick old man coat, but his eyes followed Alfred hurrying out of the store and across the parking lot. He stopped a little ways away, not sure if it was a good idea to get close.

"Uh, hey." Alfred cringed at how pathetic his voice came out.

Arthur rolled his jaw before sucking in a loud breath, "Where is your family? At a fancy diner, correct? There is only one sort of place like that here." He twisted and began gliding pass the gas pumps. "Come. Now."

Alfred's legs rushed forward a moment before he asked himself what the Hell he was doing. Arthur glared over his shoulder, stopping when he noticed that Alfred did, too.

"Alfred. Let's go."

"No!"

"Alfred!"

"What's going on? And don't try to say nothing, because something's obviously going on!"

Arthur spun on his heel and stomped over to him. Alfred stuffed his hands in his pants pockets, bracing for him to get all up in his face. Arthur did, steadily glaring into his eyes, yet (hopefully) unaware of the hairs standing straight up along the back of his neck. After a hot, awkward moment of Alfred holding his breath, Arthur's expression eased into strong confusion.

"What is wrong with you?!"

Alfred scoffed, trying to keep his voice cool, "What's wrong with _you_? You said that with whatever, you'd let me help you. We're in this toget-"

"It's not whatever this time, Alfred! There has been a damned demon sighting, and you're wasting my time playing hero! Get back to your family!"

"Wait, when you say a demon-"

"Yes, an actual demon. They actually exist. One's actually roaming around _this very moment _and I need to get my hands on it! What exactly are you hoping to achieve here? Blunder through everything and raise your fists? _To a demon_?!"

"Stop talking to me like I'm a kid!"

Arthur's voice jumped, "When you act like a child-!" He jerked back, and spun in a tight circle, huffing and puffing and about to blow the whole gas station down.

"Seriously, Arthur, if this is freaking _you _out, then..." Alfred's eyes flickered away as Arthur slouched his head and groaned in irritation. "I want to help. I don't want to you to get hurt."

"Don't want me..." Arthur shook with laughter, "Alfred, I am made to go against this sort of thing. If I get hurt during my time of duty, then that just further proves everything I work for."

"But you even said it's not all about duty!"

"Wha-" Arthur quickly turned his head away, glaring at something in the distance. "N-no, but protecting the town, including you, comes first."

Alfred shook his arms against the night winds as he bounced on his toes impatiently. "I-I can't! I can't go back there, and sit down and eat while you...you go out and-and do something dangerous! It doesn't feel right!"

"Alfred..." Arthur came a little closer, slowly lifting his hands, and then easing them against Alfred's arms. "I'm going to patrol the town to make sure it's just a stray scent. That's it. I'm not asking you to run back and pretend everything's all right. I need you to look out for your family and anybody in that restaurant."

Alfred glanced across the street, but a cool palm cupped his cheek, bringing him back to the strange, sudden and sincere look on Arthur's face. "Let me know if anything suspicious comes up. Even the slightest, all right? Can you do that for me?"

"Uh, y-yeah..." Alfred slowly blinked against the pleasant flush running though his body. Waitaminute. He pulled back and smacked Arthur's arm away. "Hey, no! Quit it! You'd be out here all by yourself then!"

"Excuse you!" Arthur threw his hands in the air, pissy again, "I've been by myself for _decades _now! I am not helpless like you think I am!"

"I don't think you're helpless! I never said that!" Alfred scrubbed at his cheek, "If you're just patrolling, snooping around, then what's the harm-"

Pale hands flew by Alfred's face, clamping on the back of his neck as Arthur shoved himself onto him. Alfred let out a startled grunt against his lips, and clutched onto his shoulder to stop himself from stumbling backwards. An icy zing ran over his tongue, and Arthur pulled away slightly to blow a sharp breath in his face.

Alfred flinched, and blinked, finding himself stiff and cold at a gas station parking lot. Arthur was in his arms, hands on his chest and gawking at him with wide eyes. He scoffed, doing that half-smirk, but spoke gently, "Alfred, you idiot. Did you seriously run all the way out here just to say hi to me? Your family must think you're insane."

Alfred glanced at the restaurant across the street, then back to how close they were. "Did...did we just kiss, dude?"

"Uh, well," Arthur's gaze shifted to the side as his cheeks bloomed a brilliant pink under the gas station's lights. "You were...sort of...excited..."

"_Oh_..." A slap of heat hit Alfred's face as Arthur pressed his lips in a flat line and pointedly cleared his throat. That was some kind of angel-hypnosis, right? Totally. Alfred found himself leaning down to stick their mouths together again.

"Ah, Alfr-" Arthur let out a short grunt against him, his lips cool yet _soft. _Alfred jerked back with a little gasp, not knowing what he expected from smacking on another guy (and an angel at that fact), which isn't something he did _ever_, and he felt his look of shock mirror Arthur's wide, dazzling green eyes. Yeah, dazzling. That's right, and they tempted Alfred to drown in their depths-

_Blink._

Waitaminute.

Oh, crap.

"Whoa!" Alfred jerked away after a too long, too quiet moment between their close faces and laughed really loud over how hard his heart hammered in his chest, "Jeez, yeah, you're right! I was like, really excited! Sorry about that, man, I didn't mean to up and...you know, mack all over you! Ha-ha!"

"Uh, right..." Arthur put a hand to his own forehead, probably about to have an aneurism. Alfred should stop laughing now. Maybe that was making it worse. Why wouldn't he stop laughing?

And why were they macking in the first place?

Waitanotherminute.

Alfred cut off with a hiccup when he spotted a figure looming in the shadows of a nearby apartment building. "Hey, look!" He stupidly pointed at the guy and stumbled in his direction. Something wasn't right. His brain was definitely not right. "I think I know that guy! Doesn't he go to our school?"

Of course when someone points and yells at another person, they run away. The lurker darted into the leading alley way, leaving Alfred absolutely dumbfounded with random kisses and creeper peepers. The cold air bit through his clothes, and he realized with a great shiver that he was outside without a jacket. He left it inside the restaurant, and wouldn't have gone outside in the middle of winter without it.

That wasn't a normal kiss.

The first one, at least.

The shadows drained from the sidewalk, following the guy that just ran into the alley. Alfred's mind meat finally kicked back to life, and he let out a holler, "Um, what were you saying about demons?!"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

* * *

"Alfred, no! Do not go after it!"

Well, well, look who finally found his words? Alfred backed away from Arthur and jabbed a finger at him, "What'd I say about using your freaking brain-magic on me? Did I say anything? If I did, I forgot! So, there it is again!" Then, he sprinted after that super suspicious guy.

"I-I was just trying to protect you, ugh, you fucking idiot!" Arthur ran after him and shouted the town down, "Don't run after it!"

What else was he supposed to do? Alfred hurried after those humanoid shadows dashing to the other opening of the alley way, closer to the suburban houses. Even if it wasn't a demon, that guy saw Alfred seeing him, and ran away, so he was a little suspicious. But an actual demon? In their little town? Awesome.

Alfred slowed as the alley way grew darker the further he went down, and eyed the scarce lights hanging above the back of people's doors flicker and dim. Arthur wasn't shouting anymore. He risked a peek over his shoulder, breath catching when there was nobody around. He stopped, dress shoes grinding against asphalt as he craned his head to the night sky.

_Whoosh_, something was behind him now. Alfred jumped, spun around with a fist raised, but it just was little old Arthur bodyslamming him into a bricked apartment wall and pining him by the shoulders. "What are you doing?!"

Alfred shot his hands up from the sudden and undisguised glowing spreading throughout the alley. His skin flared hot and started to burn again against the angel's touch as he scrambled for coherent words, "I-I was, um, w-waiting for you to catch up?"

That stare-down went on for _way _too long, but then Arthur suddenly let go with an angry flourish of the hands. "Fine. Just the one, on the run. Anything more, and I would personally deposit you in the restaurant dump bins. This isn't a petty thief on the run. It's a _demon. _We need to find out what it is doing here, if it's looking for something, whatever. So, don't antagonize it! Are you listening?"

Alfred snapped a salute when Arthur stepped closer. "Oh! Yeah! I hear you! Don't go poking demons with sticks. Got it."

"Good." Arthur swished a hand down the alley way. "There's a faint snake trail leading to the suburbs. Let's go!"

Alfred let out a shaky sigh, swiping a hand over his cheeks. He shook his head and yelled as the angel took to the skies, "Hey, wait! I can't...oh, whatever." He just had to go through the rest of the way on foot. The alley opened to the beginnings of houses' back yards and trees, which only made it darker. Alfred shoved away from almost face-planting into somebody's fence, stumbled to the side, and caught himself on a tree trunk. All a part of the plan.

"Alfred! Slow down!"

Alfred craned his neck to the sky. There was a quick flicker of light behind him, and he took long strides to get back to it. "Jeez, what?" He tried to whisper, "What happened to being quiet?"

"I thought I saw something just ahead."

Alfred glanced behind himself. "A fence?"

"That you nearly ran into?" Arthur curtly laughed, "Yes, you blind bat. Come."

Alfred yelped as Arthur grabbed his hand and dragged him through the suburbs. "Uh, wait!" They jerked to a stop, and he ducked his head from the obligatory scowling. "I-I don't think we can do this."

Arthur's eyes flashed down to their hands, and quickly yanked away. "I was just-"

"No!" Alfred grabbed for him again without even thinking about it. "I mean your glowing! I can see it down the street, dude. If you want to sneak around and see what the demon's up to, you can't be looking like a walking light bulb!"

Arthur's wings uncurled from his back as he snarled, "A what?! You-!"

"Come on!" Alfred grinned as he gave Arthur's hand a nice squeeze. "You know I'm right!"

"It'll be harder to track the shadows if I'm cloaked."

"It'll be harder for the demon to avoid you, too."

Another stare-down. This one felt more thoughtful. Arthur looked away first. "Damn it." Victory. His face scrunched up as the darkness swallowed his glowing and wings. "At least zipper up my jacket in the back, would you?"

"Whoa, yeah, okay." Alfred did just that, and as soon as the second wing-zipper-whatever-they-call-it was closed, Arthur shot ahead, towing him along.

They passed the Bonnefoy house, and Arthur pointed up. "Look."

Alfred didn't see anything. "What? Did you see him?"

"No, but my skin is absolutely crawling, so it must be close."

Alfred grinned from the excitement pounding in his ears. Arthur tightened his grip on his hand, muttering to himself, "Went up, around, over the fence, back again...I think."

"What do you think he's doing?"

"Losing its damned mind? How should I know?"

"So, what are we looking for? What do they look like?"

Arthur suddenly stopped, sniffed, and kept going, slower, like the grass was made of ice. "They look..._ugh._"

"Ugly?"

"Kind of like us, dare I say, but...more..._ugh._" Alfred didn't know what Arthur meant by that. "Their eyes make you feel cold. Even for us. And they tend to travel in a ball of...darkness."

"Like a tennis ball? They shrink down or something?"

"What? No! Those are fairies you're thinking of."

"Huh? We're talking about fairies now?!"

Arthur tugged on Alfred's arm. "Hush! No, you fool, we're talking about demons."

"Right, okay, yeah." Alfred's gaze jumped around the shapes of plants and fences, looking out for either demons or fairies. The nearest street light dimmed, and they looked up. "Think that's something?"

"Yes, something passed by. It's not blinking again. Let's go that way. Quickly."

Alfred rolled his eyes. Of course he was going quick, but if the demon was close, then they should go different ways to trap him. He pretended to follow Arthur to the sidewalk, before feigning around the fences. He ducked, eyes running back and forth for any freaky stuff as he rooted himself against a thick tree trunk with pine needles poking at his head.

Somebody came from the other side of the fence, footsteps scraping through the grass. It stopped, and so did Alfred's heart. That somebody let out a sharp exhale just a few paces in front of his spot. It kept going, more slower this time, and Alfred leaned forward, pinching a branch to the side to peek. He squinted through the darkness, then tensed when he realized he _was_ staring at the darkness.

It was starting to hurt from not breathing, and Alfred sucked in a breath as two beady glints pivoted to his spot. The demon saw him. He didn't know what to do. "Nice...demon?"

"Ahh!" Suddenly the demon jerked back and fell into the grass with a big thump.

Alfred flinched. He opened his eyes as the demon scrambled to his hands and knees, and took off with these loud, chittering noises. Al broke out of his hiding spot, gawking at the so-called fiend leap over a fence and sprout these huge bat-wings from his broad back, dispersing the shadows around him as he shot into the air and over the rooftops.

Alfred caught a head of near white-blond hair retreating toward the busier part of town. "What...the...fuck."

Something grasped his shoulder, and Alfred shrieked so loud, it echoed down the street. "Stop! Calm down!" Arthur yelled in his ear. "What's wrong with you?! I told you to follow me-"

"I saw it! I saw the demon-creature thing!"

"You did? Where is it now?!"

Alfred pointed, "He went that way!"

Arthur grabbed onto his arm and hurried toward the other side of town...again. "Did it look like anybody you know?"

Alfred lied, "No, man, but he looked more like a '_whoa_' than an _'ugh._'" He thought about it as they hurried down the alleyway, hand-in-hand. "Anybody I know? So, demons can disguise themselves, too?"

"Certainly," Arthur said right away. "That's how they can easily seduce humans. Ugh."

"Ugh," Alfred agreed. "I think I need to get back to the restaurant."

"What?" Arthur yanked him back, seething, "You want to go back now-"

"Please! I just want to duck in there, and I'll be out again! We're headed there anyway."

"Why...oh, never mind. Whatever!"

Even though the town was small in relative terms of towns, it still took a good ten, fifteen minutes to get from one side to the other. Not to mention the off-set buildings on the outskirts...like the fancy-shmancy restaurant.

Alfred busted in the door, and asked the startled hostess, "Is my family still here?" The people waiting for a table gave him a dirty look as he hovered over the host stand. "They were under the name Bonnefoy."

The hostess asked a nearby waitress, and the waitress glanced around the restaurant, but shook her head. Alfred didn't wait for the hostess to say anything before he flew out of the restaurant again. "They're not here! They're not here anymore!"

"For fuck's sake, Alfred!" Arthur stopped pacing in front of the windows to throw his hands in the air and declare to the skies, "This is _exactly _the reason I told you to listen to me and stay in the first-"

Alfred held a palm up, "Artie, come on. Could you freak out when we're done? Please? You can zap my brains as many times you want, but _please,_ I have to get back to my family!"

"Like you should have done in the first place!" Arthur followed right after Alfred as he stuffed his hands in his slacks and marched back to the other side of town. "What, you get one good look at the thing, and you want to run and hide yourself in your house?"

Alfred rolled his eyes, but kept walking without responding.

"Good," Arthur huffed, his footsteps rushed and heavy as he tried to keep up. "That's what you should do. That's what someone with common sense would do."

Alfred jerked to a stop and whipped around. "Arthur, can you shut up already?"

Arthur rammed into him and bounced, stammering a bunch of flustered nonsense.

"Seriously. Just stop already, okay?! I'm not freaking scared out of my mind or anything for my sake. I'm scared that the demon is going to get my family!"

Arthur clamped his mouth shut, and shook his head with nothing coming out. Alfred turned around to keep walking, and the bitter pigeon blurted, "Well, I can't leave you alone out here!"

Alfred roughly flapped a hand in the air. "Fine! Whatever!" He pulled out his cell phone and started to scroll through his contacts.

A hushed voice picked up the other end almost right away, "Al?"

Alfred cried in relief, "Mattie!"

Arthur caught up, got one good look at him holding the phone to his ear, and freaked, "What the bloody Hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Mattie, I have to make this quick! Are you at the house?!"

"What, um, yeah, why-"

Arthur cut in, "You _better_ make that quick, Alfred."

Alfred turned his back on him and plugged his other ear. "You are? Oh, good! I need-"

"Is that Arthur's voice?" Matthew asked. "What did he want so badly that you decided to ditch your family on an important outing?!"

His words were heavy with Dad's influence. Alfred swept a quick glance around the alleyway. Arthur shrugged before tucking his hands under his armpits. "I can't tell you, Mattie. Not now at least. So, please, _please_ stay inside, lock all the doors and windows and close the curtains, all right? Make the house seem like nobody is awake, just like everyone else's. I'll be there soon, I promise!"

Matthew went quiet, and Alfred moved his phone away to make sure the call was still connected. "I-I don't know what's going on, Al." His tone grew aggressive, "But you better come home. I'll be mad at you forever if you died or anything!"

Alfred couldn't help a laugh. "Don't worry about me, Mattie! I have a guardian angel by my side!" He glimpsed to Arthur with a reassuring nod, but Artie just turned heel and started to walk away. "Whoa, where are you going?!"

"Artie! Arthur!"

Alfred shook his head when ignored, but soon caught up to Arthur with a brisk pace.

Then, Arthur spoke, "If you're so bent on being a hero, heroes don't just concern themselves with the people around them. The whole town is at risk! A demon is not choosy about their prey."

Alfred made a noise of strong doubt, and blurted, "Well, I think this one is!"

Arthur didn't say anything else. Alfred was too cold and too busy half-jogging back through the alleyway to keep talking, and quickly passed him with his eyes toward his house. A loud _whoosh_ ran by his ear, and he flinched, but kept hustling right out of the alley and into the suburbs...until a dainty body slammed into his with a whole a lot of power.

Two bodies hit grass, and Alfred grunted with his face to the ground, "Arthur!"

Arthur clamped a hand onto the back of Alfred's dress shirt before he even had a moment to get a grip of his grounded surroundings. "What do you mean by that?!"

Alfred turned over and scrunched his nose at all the unnecessarily hollering. "W-what?"

"Do. You know. This demon?"

"I already said no!"

Arthur smacked the ground on both of his sides. "Are you lying?!"

Alfred shoved Arthur's shoulder, leaving him sprawling and hollering in the grass, and pushed to his feet. "Why are you freaking out?" He should stop asking that. "Really, pushing me over because...because you're a hot-headed jerk? What's _your _problem?"

Arthur shot up and roughly brushed down his coat. "Ugh! My problem is that we've been running around for more than a half-hour now, and accomplished _nothing_!" He glared at Alfred and curled his lip, "When we get back to your house, you should just stay there!"

"This again?!"

"No one said you had to deal with it. Just go home already!"

"Don't tell me what to do, you miserable old man! And stop using your mind powers on me! It's not fair!"

"Then stop hanging around this miserable old man, or stop complaining about it!"

"You're just saying that to chase me away." Alfred waved a hand and turned around, dismissing all this B.S. "Whatever. It's not going to work."

Arthur stomped after him and started to pummel on his back. "Maybe it should, you stupid!"

"Hey! Quit it!"

"What's that?!" The drumming got more intense. "Don't like it when someone else is being a nuisance? How does your own medicine taste like?!"

Alfred twisted to grab one of Arthur's wrists, yanked him to the side, hooked an arm around his neck, and scrubbed at his scalp. "You're stupid! Nuisance! You just can't handle it when someone wants to get all up in your business!"

Arthur latched onto his hands, trying to pry them from his hair, "It's _my _business! Not yours! And you can't handle that!"

"You can't handle that I _can _handle that!"

"Liar! You can't handle that I can handle that you can handle it!"

The more Arthur angrily wreathed, the tighter Alfred bent his elbow around his neck and the huffier and puffier they both got against each other, "You can't handle that I can handle, that you can handle-"

Something swished in the bushes just a little ways away. They both stopped shouting and squirming to gaze into the darkness. Nothing else moved around. "Shite," Arthur said. "The demon!" He crouched and slipped out of Alfred's lax arms, only to spin around and thunk him on the side of his head. "Idiot! You're standing there, arguing with me while there's one of those _creatures _on the loose!"

Alfred clamped a hand over his face to catch his glasses going astray. "Hey, don't blame me! _You're _the one that's arguing with _me_!"

"Oh, shut up, already!"

"I think it's my turn to be mad!"

Arthur swung his head side-to-side as he marched deeper into the neighbor's yards. "Well, try not to let it over-steam your vegetables."

Alfred clenched his jaw, enough to grind his teeth and hurt himself. "Agh!"

Arthur quickly turned around. "What?"

"Nothing! I bit my tongue."

He reached to touch Alfred's face, but Alfred jerked away.

"No, stop using your freaking mind powers on me, would you?!" They glared at one another for a long moment, before Arthur snorted and kept stomping through the foliage. "Now you care? Which is it, Arthur? Do you act like a miserable old man so nobody gets close to you, or do you act like a miserable old man _because _nobody gets close?"

Arthur stopped, shoulders squared and fists down at his sides, and Alfred bumped into him before jerking away. He turned his head a little to the side, not looking over his shoulder, not looking at Alfred, but his voice wasn't harsh and bitter anymore. "I'm sorry."

He kept walking.

All those nasty, fanged feelings in Alfred's stomach died away in the cold grass. He let out a long sigh, staring at Arthur's back for a moment before following quietly. "I...I hate it when you...when it gets like this between us. Let's play some freaking bingo or something with some old folks tomorrow." He quickly added with a breathless laugh, "But for now, we have a demon to bag."

This time, Arthur slowed down to give him a funny look from the corner of his eye. "Apology accepted, Alfred."

"You, too, Arthur." Alfred's face felt all hot. Good thing it was so dark out. "Um, actually," he stopped, "maybe I should check in with my family now."

"Finally?" Arthur crossed his arms and lifted his chin with a little snark, "You're leaving me here all helpless and alone?"

"Oh, y-yeah. Trust me, that demon guy scampered off as soon as I came out. If he gets one good look at you, he won't know what to do with himself!"

"Hopefully, it will promptly go back to Hell."

"It...that was actually a compliment, Arthur."

"Oh." Arthur glanced away and cleared his throat. "Thank you."

Alfred clamped a hand over the goose bumps on the back of his neck and nodded towards his house. "Yeah...so, uh, I'll text you. See if everything's okay."

"All right. Stay safe. Go home, _right away._"

"Sure thing." Alfred turned on his heel and hurried toward the sidewalk. His feet scrunched on the concrete, and he tossed a couple of quick glances behind himself for any demons, but it was a quiet and short walk back to the Bonnefoy house.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

* * *

The door knob was cold and wouldn't budge. Alfred tore his hand away and curled and uncurled his poor numb hands. "That's right." He told Matthew to lock everything up. He dug in his slacks, and froze when they were empty. Not even checking them again made any keys magically appear.

Alfred left his spare house key in his suit jacket, which he left with Francis. "Shit..."

He lightly knocked on the door, and then a little harder soon after. "Mattie!" He pleaded into the crack of the door frame, "I forgot my keys!"

A car sped by, and Alfred let out an unmanly squeak, "Let me in, man!"

The door knob jostled, and Matthew swung open the door, both looking and feeling shocked to see one another. Alfred shoved by with his hands tucked under his armpits, and kicked the door shut as soon as he was inside. He shuddered and rubbed his arms, giving them a little shake to put feeling back into everything, and noticed his brother was still in his formal wear.

"Hey, Mattie? What's up?"

Matthew's eyes were wide behind his glasses. "Is everything all right?!"

Alfred took a step forward to glance around the empty hall and kitchen. "Are you?"

Matthew stepped in front of him, scoffing, "You ran out on us at dinner. Dad's super pissed at you. What happened?" He moved again as Alfred peeked into the living room, but they were the only ones there. Dad must have gone to bed. "You said you were going to tell me what's going on."

Alfred shook his head, blurting, "No, I didn't!"

"So what? I deserve to know!"

"I-I can't say."

Matthew crossed his arms. Serious. "Yes, you can."

"No!" Alfred had enough with sassy people and yelling at those sassy people. He made a move for the stairs, but Matthew weaved to the side, so he tried to go the other way, only to be thwarted again. "Dude!"

"Don't 'dude' me. I know something freaking freaky is going on here!"

"Uh, yeah!" If only Matthew knew. "I know something freaking freaky is going on!"

"Oh, so you're going to play hero games and act like I don't care?"

Alfred flinched when his brother's soft might got into his personal space. "It's not that, Mattie, something-"

"Then what is it?" Matthew spat, and it sounded like the bathroom door creaked open down the hall.

Ivan. He tipped his head, smiling at Matthew's back as he approached. Alfred found himself stepping backwards. "That's the..."

"What?" Matthew tossed a look over his shoulder and jumped from Ivan's sudden presence.

They smiled at one another, and Ivan turned to Alfred. His eyes and expression were warm and soft. "Why is he 'freaking out?'"

Alfred swallowed so he could let out a decent chuckle. "Seeing you pop out of nowhere is enough to give me the creeps, dude!"

Matthew gave him a wretched eye, but his friend coolly replied, "Thank you. I am trying my best."

Alfred scrunched his face, trying to keep his blood pressure down as Ivan _generously _rubbed his brother's back and snickered from his own lame joke. "Could you like, leave? I got to talk to Mattie."

The dumb creature just tilted his head again, so Al had to talk slow, "You know, alone...? Without _anybody else_ in the room?"

Matthew sighed, probably annoyed, and shouldered the beast. "Maybe he's right. Stop by some other time, okay?"

Ivan got all smiley, "Yes, you will see me again very soon." Alfred almost begged him not to. Oh, please, no - he leaned in and it looked like he was whispering something in Matthew's ear, or maybe _kissing his cheek,_ but Al wasn't too sure, and he was too busy trying to not bust out in a frustrated yell to call him out on it.

Matthew nodded as his friend pulled away with a little giggle and hurried outside. "Yeah, bye." He swished a hand through his hair, face getting pink as he stared at Alfred. "What?"

Alfred grunted, not sure to laugh or freak out. "Nothing!"

"Okay." Matthew's eyes darted around the room. "Uh...are you going to tell me what's going on now?"

"Ooh, I really want to, Mattie, but-"

"And you are going to," Matthew calmly demanded. "Don't even say that I'm not going to believe you, either. I've been your brother for eighteen years now. When it comes to you, nearly anything is possible."

"Wow, that's actually...kind of uplifting." Alfred's eyes felt like they were about to water. Nope, can't let that happen. He squared his shoulders and put on his most serious, adult façade and announced, "Okay, fine. Your boyfriend is a demon."

Matthew didn't even need a second, "He's not my boyfriend."

Alfred slouched from his unwavering gaze. "Seriously, dude?" Matthew didn't budge. Maybe he didn't hear right. "Oh, my God. Demon. From Hell?" Al shook his hands as his brother kept stubborn, "You know, with fiery flames and torturing souls? Pitchforks? Red horns?!"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Al, he's nothing like that."

"Nothing like..." That's why he wasn't freaking out. Alfred flapped his arms when words struggled, "You...you knew? _And you didn't tell me?!_ What the fuck, man?! I thought we were bros!"

"We are, Alfred, but what did you do when you first found out what he really is?"

Alfred swished a hand, "Oh, I totally didn't freak out, dude. I mean, it was dark, I saw this giant demon right in front of me...yeah! Totally chill, don't worry."

"Right. It's not something that I am going to announce over dinner. I...I wanted to tell you, but I..." Matthew shifted from foot-to-foot and sighed, "I didn't know if you knew about angels and demons _actually _existing, and I didn't feel like jeopardizing Ivan's secret."

So...Alfred and Arthur were freaking out over people getting eaten by a big, scary demon for nothing? Al backtracked, "Angels? You know that Arthur's..." He stopped at a stupid time.

Matthew gave him a reassuring smile. "The glowing gave it away."

"Right, right." Alfred stuck a hand to his mouth as he gazed at the floor. All that crazy crap finally took off from his shoulders, and he let out a squeal of relief, "Angels and demons!"

Matthew laughed, just as stumped, "Uh, yeah!"

"This isn't a normal Sunday night anymore, is it?"

"You can say that again!"

Alfred decided not to. "What are we going to do?" Ivan just walked out the door, into the night where Arthur was scouring for him. "We can't let them find out each other!"

Matthew didn't seem as worried. "Arthur doesn't know Ivan's a demon?" He smiled, "Oh. That's...awesome. He's disguised, so I think he'll be okay. But why did you suddenly ditch us at dinner?"

"Wait, my food! Did you guys pack it up?"

"Oh, my God. Yes. It's in the fridge."

Alfred did a fist bump. "Yes! Okay, so Artie was like, 'Yo, there's a demon!' And I was like, 'No way!' But then he's telling me to stay where I am - this was at the restaurant by the way - but I wasn't going to do that when there was a _demon _flying around!"

"Uh...how about we go into the living room?"

Alfred eagerly nodded and bounced after his brother. "You still got the snacks, or did you eat them all?"

"There's still snacks, lard butt."

"Hey!" They flopped on the couch. "Oh, wait, let me text Artie real quick. I got to tell him to chill out."

Matthew dug around in the old boxes and wrappers for something good as Alfred tacked on his screen, _'Artie! Everyone's all right! What's it like out there?'_

"So, what happened then? You ran out?"

"Yeah! I ran out to meet him, and let's just say he wasn't really happy about that."

"Surprise, surprise."

"Dude."

"Oh!" Matthew put a hand to his mouth, "Did I say that aloud?"

Alfred snatched a potato chip from the bag Matthew just opened, and loudly chomped it between his teeth to show him who's boss. "We were running around, looking for the guy, and then I saw him, but Artie didn't. I called you because, you know, 'Ah! Demon! Out on the loose! Stay indoors!' But apparently Ivan's _not _out on the loose. I got to explain to Artie that Ivan _isn't _going to eat people without telling him that Ivan is the demon at the same time. Oh, boy."

Alfred kept going, "Dude, when I realized what was going on, what he really was, I thought you had no idea. I thought he had plans to get all chummy with you and then eat your soul or something. I know now, so don't worry, man." He made a face, "He's not going to really do that, is he? Kind of takes away the element of surprise."

His phone vibrated, and Alfred glimpsed over Arthur's message, _'Not good. I lost the damn son of a bitch.'_

Matthew wasn't pissy, "No, Al, Ivan doesn't eat people. He actually likes chocolate and potatoes. Sometimes both at the same time."

_'Lol don't worry about it. He saw one look at us and got scared. He ran back to Hell because he knows we'll chase him down.'_

"What?!" Alfred just registered what Matthew said. "Chocolate and potatoes?!" And Mattie was friends with this guy? "That's...ew!"

Matthew shrugged and popped a potato chip in his mouth.

"So...he isn't here to rain fireballs from the sky," Alfred tried to get a grip. "I mean, I didn't see him do anything _bad _so far behind anybody's backs that you'd think a demon would do."

Phone buzzed again. _'Very funny. I'll keep looking.'_

Alfred shook his head and tucked his phone under his leg. "Unless he's hatching an evil plan to enslave the whole human race!"

"Al," more of that not-giving-a-crap from Matthew, "the first time he came up here, he got stuck in a tree and tore his wing." He leaned closer, gesturing in secret despite them being alone, "Before I bought him clothes, he would take them from people's wash lines, even if they didn't fit. He didn't see anything wrong with wearing heels." He pulled away with a little shrug, "So, I don't think he has other motives besides his own curiosity."

Alfred gnawed on the inside of his cheek as his brother reached for more food. That demon popped up for a joy run, and Matthew took him in like a little bird that snapped his wing. All the while Arthur scoured the town with duty and secrets up the whazoo.

A part of it didn't seem fair.

Still, Alfred was glad. He didn't want anything throwing fireballs all over the town...if demons could even do that. He thoughtlessly dug in the bag of pretzels Matthew held out for him, and scrunched up his face. "Wait, did you say Ivan tried to wear heels?"

Matthew snorted, almost spitting out his food as he eagerly nodded. "Oh, yeah! I even have a picture of it!"

"Are you serious?!" Alfred asked a bit too excitedly as Matthew whipped out his phone and scrolled through his pictures. He tilted it so they could both see. Sure enough, in the middle of an aisle in some shoe store, stood Ivan, tugging at some ugly jean jacket he was wearing while showing off hooker red high heels. It was like seeing God before his very eyes. "Do...do you think you can get him to wear a dress?"

Matthew gave him a 'Try me' look. "He tried to get me to buy him a bra. He thought it was some kind of shirt, so...probably."

Alfred looked to the Heavens. This was hundreds of times better than fireball-throwing demons. "Wow, big, tall fella from the deep pits of the Earth, rocking heels and a dress. I'd pay to see that! Ha-ha, I mean, I'd pay to see and laugh at him!"

Matthew tucked that masterpiece back into his pocket, and it sounded like he said, "Me, too." He butted Alfred's shoulder. "I missed this, Al."

"Aw," Alfred gently pushed him back, "I missed you, too, Mattie, my man!"

"Are you going to bed anytime soon?"

"It's a school night. We really should..."

They looked at each other for a long moment before bursting into laughter. "Yeah, right! Come on," Matthew shoved his shoulder again. "You said you'd play video games with me! Technically, it's still the weekend."

Alfred dug around the boxes and bags on the coffee table and pulled out the gaming controllers. "Me, Player 1!"

Matthew snatched one of them from his hands. "Of course."

Alfred waved the remote at the TV, but his eyes jumped to the ceiling when something creaked along the house. They glanced at one another again, more concerned this time. Footsteps stomped through the upstairs hall, hesitated for a second, before thunking down the steps.

"Dad's coming!"

Matthew panicked and looked around the couch to look for who knows what. "What do we do. What do we do?!"

"What are we going to tell him?!"

"You're good at making up bullcrap!"

"Hey!" Alfred tried to be offended, but couldn't. "Yeah, okay, I guess, but-"

They jumped as Francis snapped, "What are you two doing?!"

"Dad!" Alfred hollered, spooked by his presence in the living room doorway. He had a super-pissed-Dad look beneath the bags under his eyes. This creature was not their Dad; he was too hideous!

"Go to bed, Matthew."

"Papa-"

"Go, _Matthew_!"

Matthew scrambled off the couch and squeezed by Francis' looming. The coward. Alfred smiled and nodded, "Hey, Dad!"

"Be quiet for a moment, Alfred. I'm trying to think what to do with you."

Alfred slowly rose from the couch and put his hands out. "Dad, I know you're mad-"

"You abandoned us during a family dinner! For who?! That Arthur?!"

"I-I thought you liked him. Wait, how'd you know?"

Francis didn't answer his question, "I understand you have friends, my boy, but there is a time and place for everything! Everything in its place! That time was for your family!"

Alfred gnawed on his lower lip. That time _was _for the family. Just in a way Dad could _never _understand.

Francis kept going, hands swishing dramatically, "And what is this...this 'Life or Death' situation, huh? More important than spending time with your father? Any other time, _fine_, but I'm leaving in just a _few hours!_"

Alfred blurted pass the scolding, "Yeah, it actually was!" His Dad raised his eyebrows, obviously taken back. He turned around and plopped on the couch with his hands pressed to the sides of his face, like that would make an excuse come quicker. "Arthur...Arthur lost somebody he knew."

"Oh?" Francis crept around the sofa to settle beside him. "This...this changes things." That nasty look lifted a little. "Were they close?"

Alfred's eyes darted away from his father. "Well, uh...he likes to...he goes to hospitals and visits people that are going to die soon. You know, in case they're lonely or something. It was a little kid he watched over, and-"

"I thought he works for that special class in your school."

"Oh, he does! It's just that he does this kind of stuff, too. Like those people that come into your room and ask you if you want anything before you die." Alfred let out a giggle as he scrubbed his palm over his neck, "It's kind of an independent organization. Anyway! I just thought he didn't want to be alone, you know..."

Francis planted a hand on his son's knee, almost scaring the crap out of him, but he had on one of those sad smiles. "I understand. I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier. That is most certainly a special circumstance." He poked a finger into Alfred's chest, "I do not like to be left in the dark, Alfred. Let me know these things. You had me so stressed out! Oh!"

Alfred dramatically rolled his eyes and leaned away with a groan. "You freaking worry-wart! No wonder where Mattie gets it from!"

His father slung his arms around him, sighing and patting his back, "And you are dangerous, just like your mother."

Alfred pulled away, trying to keep his face blank as he nodded. "Sorry, Dad. I'll, um, try not to do it again."

Francis tapped his nose once. "Good. Get going to bed now. It's getting late."

"We'll talk on the phone," Alfred promised, and went in for another quick hug. "Love you, Pops."

"Ah, I love you, too, even if you make me gray."

Alfred grinned as Francis broke out in an overwhelming yawn. "'night."

It looked like the couch was going to gobble him up, and Alfred let him to it. He sprinted up the stairs and sighed as he reached the top, "This is some freaky shit going on."

Matthew came out of his room, and spun around to slowly pull his door shut to stay quiet. He jumped as he noticed Alfred. "Hey, Al."

He probably wanted to know what happened. "I got yelled at."

Matthew readily pointed out as he tip-toed closer, "You _did _do something stupid, though."

Alfred scrunched up his face, but...his brother was right. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going to bed now, okay?"

Matthew smiled all happy and stuff despite it all and quickly threw his arms around Alfred. "All right. Goodnight."

Alfred blinked in surprise as his brother ran down the stairs. "Uh, yeah...'night." He closed his door a bit too roughly, but _finally_ could get out of those dressy duds. He bobbed his chin at his bed, the soft prospect, "I missed you, man." With a careless toss of his day clothes to the hamper, he held his arms out and flopped face-first into the mattress. "Missed you so much."

Soon after, Matthew thumped up the steps like his feet were made of lead. Alfred cracked open his eyes, grumbling as he realized he should use the bathroom so he didn't have to get out of bed later. Looks like sweet dreams had to wait.

Matthew cried out in surprise as Alfred popped out his room. He carried a bunch of water bottles, but dropped one of them. Alfred bent down and grabbed it before it could get any ideas of running away. "Hey, what are you doing with all this water, Mattie?"

"I don't want to keep going downstairs to get water when I'm _all the way _up here, so I'm taking a whole bunch."

"Whoa!" Alfred had to agree as his brother snickered and nodded, pleased with himself. "That's a good idea!" He would have to stash all those empty ones and bring them to the trash while Dad wasn't looking like it was the water bottle Walk of Shame.

It was so normal, but not really. "I don't know, Mattie, it feels kind of wrong to have a _demon _running around." Matthew's mouth opened, but Alfred swished his hands, "I know, I know! Not all of them are homicidal, sinful maniacs, but Ivan doesn't seem like the kind of guy to gladly listen to other people telling him what to do."

"I'm _not _telling him what to do," Matthew tried to put a hand to his chest as-a-matter-of-factly, "I'm giving him suggestions, and it would be stupid of him not to listen to them. He's in a pan over a cold burner, and we both know that if he instigates the angels, there will be heat."

Alfred slowly nodded, not sure why his brother wanted to swing with a smoky, shadowy creature like that instead of literally anybody else, but as long as he behaved himself, so what? "I mean, if you say so." Alfred slugged an arm over Matthew's shoulder, giving him a weird side-hug. "Give me a holler if he tries anything funny."

"Sure, Al." Matthew nudged his side before struggling down the hall with his water bottle parade. Alfred watched him fight with his door knob, but he turned and nodded, "Goodnight."

Alfred shrugged and ducked into the bathroom. Looks like he would have to look the other way for a few more things now. May Matthew do the same for him.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

* * *

A bunch of people ran by Alfred with heavy boots, splashing mud everywhere and shouting in panicked voices. He tried to reach for one of their legs as they ran by, but he couldn't move. He couldn't even look around to see why he couldn't move.

"Yo, fellas, mind givin' me a hand?" Words that weren't his own spilled out of his mouth, but even then, it didn't seem like anybody noticed he was there. "Hello! Help!"

Can't move. They're going to get him. This is it, he can't believe after everything, right here is where-

Something pressed against his side, and all the screaming and panic muffled as a wave of euphoria spread along his body. The ground pulled away. No, he pulled away from the ground. _Someone_ nudged his side, hoisting him to his unwilling feet.

"Come on, stay with me."

Alfred looked to his help, and his weak smile of relief snapped as he met the greenest eyes. Arthur.

The ground came forward again.

He sat up from his bed, yelling and clawing at the air.

"Alfred!"

"Holy shit...holy shit." Alfred turned his head to the glowing being sitting on the edge of his bed. He reached for Arthur's hand, shakily sighing as their fingers intertwined and a calm reached his racked nerves. "How...how'd you get here?"

"I came though the door, idiot. It was left unlocked. Are you...are you all right?"

"Oh, yeah!" Alfred uneasily laughed and scrubbed grit from his eye. "I was just spooked from a weird dream. Crazy, huh?"

"Yes."

"Man, what a way of waking up." Alfred looked to Arthur steadily staring. He was close enough that he wasn't blurry looking, and Alfred's cheeks started to feel warm. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I was up all night."

"Wha..._all night_? Artie-"

"I saw your brother last night."

Arthur didn't say anything else.

"Uh, yeah, me too?"

"Outside, after you went in for the night. He was with that Erin bloke around the outskirts of town."

"Wait, what?" Mattie went for a late-night walk? "You mean with Ivan? Who's Erin?"

"Ah, yes, _Ivan._" Arthur's nose curled, "He never came back by the time I made my rounds again."

It was a bit too early for this. "So..."

"Your brother isn't anywhere in the house."

"What the fuck," Alfred groaned and reached for his glasses on the nightstand. "Hold on." He shoved his blankets away, his warm, warm blankets, and swung open his door to go down the hall. Arthur was on his trail. "Mattie!" He threw open Matthew's bedroom door, croaking again, "Mattie, my dude!"

There was nobody in the room, but Matthew's school books and binders spread on his bed like someone dumped them carelessly.

Arthur grumbled in his ear, "Dresser's open."

Sure enough, the top drawer was, but Alfred didn't go over to investigate his brother's underwear. "Okay? So...he went to hang out with his friend."

Without telling Alfred, of course.

"Something foul happened here." Arthur pushed by and paced around the room to sniff. He paused for a moment before whirling around to scowl at Alfred, "The demon stole your brother."

"What?" Alfred laughed, "That's stupid." Matthew had _just _said all was chill, demon-wise. Why would Ivan sneak by and snatch his brother away with a devious twirl of his metaphorical mustache? By the looks of it, Matthew did this on his own. Arthur tipped his head, more threatening than curious, and Al snippily insisted, "No, he didn't! You just seen Mattie with his pal last night! It's all good!"

"No, it is not! How come I was chasing shadows the whole time, and suddenly, that man comes out of _your _house, and the trail goes cold? No demon, no shadows, nothing whatsoever. Then, he pops up again, towing your brother along, and then there is no sign of the both of them ever again?!"

Matthew really didn't mention going anywhere last night, did he?

Arthur scoffed and tossed his hands out, "Your brother just got kidnapped, and you don't have a single care in the world?"

"Whoa, kidnapped? No, I'm sure that's not..." The water. "Hold on." Alfred hurried to peek under the bed. There was only a half-full bottle, but nothing else.

"What are you doing? What are you looking for?"

"I said hold on!" Alfred had to run through the dresser, but it was nothing but clothes. He checked the mini-TV stand, around the bookcase, nothing. Matthew took all that water with him. He expected to go somewhere, and for a decent amount of time. "That's what I thought. Mattie came by last night with a whole bunch of water bottles in his arms, and now he, and the bottles, are all gone. He took them, because he's going on a long hike with his buddy. That's all."

"Oh, a long hike?" Arthur's mouth curled into a smile, but it wasn't really a smile. "You fucking twat. That's the demon, isn't it?" He started shouting, "And you just let him walk out that door! You let your brother walk away with him!"

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut and wandered away. "Oh, my God, it's not like that."

Arthur grasped his wrist before he could get anywhere. Tightly, for such a supposedly delicate hand. Alfred opened his eyes to see him speaking through his teeth. "It's not like that? Then how is it?"

"You going to listen?" Alfred tried to keep his voice level against all the hollering. Arthur let go of him and crossed his arms. "All right, cool. Yeah, Ivan's the demon. Yeah, we were chasing him around last night, but honestly, that guy has no idea what he's doing. Mattie told me he was homeless and hungry when he first came up from...wherever. Mattie's been watching out for him. They're friends, I think, but you know what?" He didn't wait for Arthur to say anything, "Matthew's a pretty great guy. I'm not even surprised that a demon would want to get all over that."

Arthur blanched, "You're completely calm about...both of you knew this?!"

"I only found out last night, but yeah..."

"And you didn't...! You didn't tell me!"

"Arthur, relax, man," Alfred crept closer to tap his arms in a supportive fashion. "We got this. It's all right!"

"You got what? This whole demon thing under control?" Arthur snorted and twirled a finger around, "You really think you can even get a demon under control? You're mad. You _idiot!_"

Ah, there's the idiot-calling. Alfred was wondering where it was. "It's way too early for this."

"It is never too early or too late for demonic possession! Where do you think that demon took your brother?"

Alfred sighed, "If he took Mattie anywhere, it's probably for some chocolate-covered potatoes."

"No, you...wait, what? Ew. No!" Arthur gave his head a hard shake. "Hell, Alfred, Hell! The demon took him down there and is going to keep him forever and ever! Aren't you at least a bit worried?!"

"If Mattie was going to Hell forever, he would have packed more water."

Arthur let out a spew of incoherent, angry noises. "That demon probably did something to your head, too!"

"How could he?! I was with you the whole time!"

"Argh!"

"Artie, Arthur! Chill, come on." Never in history did someone 'chill' when they were told to, but Alfred still remained optimistic to set his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Mattie went along with the demon _willingly_. He'll come back. Just give them some time, and that'll prove to you that Ivan's just an ordinary guy...who just happens to come from Hell."

"I'm sorry, Alfred." Arthur gently took Alfred's hands off his shoulders. "It's never just a demon. The other angels won't see it that way. There's precautions I must take now, especially that I let one slip beneath my wings."

"You didn't _let _him-!" Arthur ignored him to open a flip phone, of all things, and started dialing on it. "Who are you calling?"

Arthur put the phone to his ear, answering Alfred's question, "Antonio? Yes. Did you eat breakfast yet? Good. There's been a demon sighting. That's what I just said. Yes. Antonio. N-no! Fine! Call it whatever, they're slippery bastards, all right?" He stuck a hand on his hip and waggled angrily side-to-side as if the other angel could see it, "Are you going to help me or not? Great. Last sighting was by the gas station. Call me right away if you catch anything. Yes, just keep an eye out. Thank you!"

Arthur didn't sound so thankful. He snapped his phone shut with a big, irritated sigh. Alfred stopped meandering around the room to give him a sympathetic smile. "That bad, huh?"

"I don't understand why you even...never mind! I...I literally passed them last night, and I walked away instead! Ugh!"

"Aw, don't blame yourself!" Alfred offered cheaply. "You didn't know for sure that Ivan was a demon then, did you?"

"No, but an angel never ignores their hunches!"

Looks like this one did. Alfred swiped a hand over his mouth so he would keep quiet about that. "Great, so...what's the game plan?"

"We'll need to increase our patrols. I'm not going to take in anymore souls until we get this thing sorted, so I can do it properly. You...you just keep...keep watch, and call your brother often, see if he picks up."

"And you?"

"I should help Antonio-"

"By getting some sleep?"

Arthur made a face like sleep was a foreign concept. "What?"

"You said you stayed up all night! Come on, dude! Sleep!"

"Important matters are at hand-"

"Like sleep? Don't even try to say sleep isn't important, because it is!"

It seemed like Arthur was going to try to say it wasn't, but his lame stammers quickly cut off. "You're just saying that so you can go back to bed."

"Well, I mean, if we're both up for it, let's go! I mean, you know..._sleep._ Yay."

Arthur still looked torn with the bags under his eyes, so Alfred started to tug on his arm. "Come on. You know you want to. You know you got to! Or you're going to fall asleep in mid-air the next time you're flying, and we can't be chasing demons when we're all sleepy! Or dead from crash-landing!"

"Since when are you the voice of reason? Fine, I suppose Antonio can look out for now." A yawn actually broke through. "I guess...I'll go back to the motel now, and-"

Alfred bounced on his toes, "You should stay here, in case they come back! Please!" He tried something funny and stuck his lower lip out, "You don't want to the demon coming and snatching me, too, do you?"

"Like Hell!" Arthur snapped. He yanked away as his face turned pink. "Y-you...ugh! I need to get my night clothes first!"

"They wouldn't be night clothes at this time, though. Wait!" Alfred waved his hands and they found themselves pasted against Arthur's shoulders again. "You'll come back, right?"

Arthur sighed and snagged one of his wrists, "Why don't you just come back to my place, instead of flying back and forth?"

Alfred didn't get a chance to say anything, even though he was going to happily agree, as a snap of bright light broke across the room, swallowing everything whole. He was too spooked to open his eyes when a cold snap of wind ran over his body. This must have been Arthur 'poofing' from one place to the next. His insides jumped as he was hit with that falling sensation, but he toppled onto something springy. A bed.

They were at the motel within a few short moments. Alfred blinked at the shapes and lines running over his vision as he stared at the ceiling, which was the same mess going through his head after being scrambled.

"Al...fred?" Something cool brushed his cheek. "You all right?"

Alfred took a sharp sniff and picked up his head to Arthur, now ready for bed and looking good while doing it. His eyes were still spinning like an amusement park ride, so he plopped back onto a pillow. "Oh, yeah, that was neat, but next time, don't let me forget my seatbelt."

"Your what?" Arthur let out a noise that could be a laugh, and he plucked Alfred's glasses off his face. "I'm too tired for this. Go to sleep."

Alfred already closed his eyes. "Don't got to tell me twice."

The bed creaked as Arthur moved around, and the blankets tugged beneath him. "You're laying on the covers. Move."

Alfred didn't. The tugging intensified.

"Alfred, move! Ugh!" Arthur smacked the mattress. "You!" A cold hand snagged the crook of Alfred's neck, and he flinched and squealed. "Ha-ha! Are you going to move now?"

"Stop it! That tickles!" Alfred grabbed his hand to pry it from himself, but another just moved in for the other side. "Okay, okay! Here's your damn blanket!" He lifted his legs, only to take the covers and throw them over Arthur's head and pinned him down. Legs kicked, and there was a lot of muffled curses coming from the angry lump, so of course Al couldn't let go.

Until all that thrashing died down.

"Arthur?"

Alfred slowly peeled the thick comforter away, and as soon as he did, an arm sprouted out and whacked him on the head. "You idiot!" If Arthur's bedhead wasn't all over the place before, it now was. "I have to deal with a demon on the loose, and now you, trying to suffocate me? Don't I have enough to deal with? You know what?" He snatched his blankets and threw them over his wings before flopping over. "I was going to share, but now for that, I'm taking all of this, and you can go cold. Good. Night."

Alfred started to tug on the blankets, but Arthur had a real good hold on them. "It's not even night-time anymore, dude! Dude. Arthur. Aw, come on! That's it." He leaned over the lump, took hold of the other side, and flipped the whole thing over.

"Wha...Alfred!" Arthur wiggled angrily as Alfred pulled some cover free and tucked it under himself.

Alfred gave him a shove, but it didn't do much from how much they were tangled within the blanket. "Sucker."

Surprisingly, Arthur just grumbled something Alfred didn't catch as he rested his head against his shoulder.

Whoa. "Artie?" Alfred gently shook his arm, but got no response. He scrunched to the side to try and peek at his friend's downcast face, and quickly straightened out when he realized the guy totally passed out within seconds...practically on top of him, too.

Hey, at least he had the blankets now.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

* * *

A loud buzz ran across one of the nightstands, startling Alfred out of his dozing. He took a sniff, picking up his head at one of the phones going off, but Arthur didn't even twitch. He reached over his head, and touched his own phone first, but nobody was calling him. So, he grabbed Arthur's phone, flicked it open, and brought it close to his face. Antonio's contact information flickered across the screen, but switched off just before he could do anything.

Alfred glanced down as Arthur deeply inhaled beside him, but sighed in his sleep without awaking. "Artie?" He slowly shifted away so he wouldn't be awkwardly leaning over his friend, but froze as a hand ran up his arm and back down again. Caught with somebody else's phone in hand!

But Arthur's eyes stayed shut as he mumbled, "Stop moving. You're warm."

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut as he slowly closed the flip phone. Dang it, Arthur was laying there, looking all happy and stuff. Al couldn't just shake him awake; he'd get mad. More mad, more so than usual. And the usual was enough. He lowered the phone back onto the nightstand before picking up his own. No notifications from Matthew. One of his friends sent a message asking how his vacation was going, probably tempting him to hang out, but he turned off his screen without replying, tossed it on the pillow behind himself, and snuck back under the covers.

Arthur was still snoozing. Great. Alfred's eyes wandered to the ceiling, and his leg started to bounce beneath the covers. He couldn't help it. He could always scoot out of bed, but it was a cold, dangerous world out there.

Something brushed against his shirt. Alfred looked down. "Oh, hey..."

A pair of bleary green eyes blinked at him. "Alfred?"

"What's up?"

Arthur scrunched himself into his blankets with a little mumble, "Not me."

"Uh-huh?" Alfred slowly scooted closer with an enticing grin. "You feeling better, you jerk?"

A nod, and just as Arthur sprung a spry little smile and laid a hand on Alfred's chest again, his phone buzzed, scaring the nerves right out of both of them. Alfred rolled away, pressing a palm to his forehead. "Jeez!"

Arthur thrashed around, cussing, and his wings sprung out as he freed himself from his covers to get to his phone. "Hello? Hello! Antonio! Yes! I was sleeping, forgive me." He didn't sound like he really was asking for forgiveness. He hurried around the room, tearing clothes out of his dresser, and putting a kettle on the stove. "What happened?"

Alfred ignored all the clattering to stare up at the ceiling so he wasn't staring at Arthur.

"What do you mean nothing?!" Arthur was very awake and very angry now, "Did you even...yeah, sure! You didn't sense _anything_?" He sucked in a sharp breath and smacked the kitchen counter a few times. "The demon has Matthew! Yes, your Matthew! I don't...I don't know! It's obviously demonic possession, but his brother is completely calm about everything, so maybe...yes, his brother is with me. You think...?"

Alfred picked up his head as Arthur's voice teetered to a stop. Arthur glanced at him, but then quickly turned away, speaking lower into the phone, "I think...yes. Probably. I know, I know. Antonio, please don't tell anyone else. At least not yet. I'll take full responsibility for everything, but there's...I need some time to think. And Alfred may be right. All right. If you think that helps." He whispered, "Goodbye," and clamped his phone shut.

The room became quiet as Arthur stared at the kettle on the stove. After everything Matthew said yesterday, believing that Ivan just swooped in and snagged him away from everybody seem so _fake._ Like, would Mattie really let himself be stolen? At least, Alfred hoped, not without a fight! And strolling down the street at night, all buddy-buddy didn't seem to scream, "Help! I'm being stolen!"

"You don't think he's going to come back, do you?"

Arthur turned toward Alfred, looking surprised. "If I...?" He cleared his throat, resuming a more chill outlook as he quietly stated, "Alfred, we must take in consideration that there is a rather likely chance that is true. But, along the lines of what you said, there's also a chance that the demon may..." He gestured vaguely with his hands as he approached the bed, "It may take on some form of sympathy for Matthew, and bring him back."

Alfred couldn't help but look dubious. "Demon possession? Still?"

Arthur settled on the edge of the bed closest to him and shrugged. "Ah, well, another possibility, however small, is that everything your brother said is true, that the thing, the demon, is just lost and _confused, _and they have this...sort of mutual bond. Matthew showed it around here, in turn the demon lets him peek at what its world is like." He reached over and lain his hand over one of Alfred's balling the blankets into a fist. "Even then, I wonder what will happen to him between now and the time he comes back."

_If _Matthew comes back. Arthur didn't even have to say it. "Wow," Alfred said, "You know, if you were trying to cheer me up, that freaking sucked, dude."

Arthur rolled his jaw, but for some reason, kept his cool. "You have every right to be angry with me. I let your brother go, after all-"

"Ugh!" Alfred snatched his hand away from the Good Feelings seeping into his skin. "No, you didn't! You can't control everybody, and you can't guess what they're going to do all the time. Even if he is mind-suckered, or 'mutually bonded,' Mattie did his own thing. That was his decision! Do you think you could just stand in front of him, holding out your hand, telling him to stop, and he'd totally be like, 'Oh, yeah, you're right!'"

"Some souls have this illusion-"

"No! Because Mattie's my brother, and I know too damn well that he will use this freaking...stubborn-passive-aggressive shit on you and totally keep walking. He would! He seriously would!" Alfred started to smack Arthur's shoulder, nothing rough, but just enough to get his point across, "So. Quit! Blaming! Yourself!"

Arthur leaned away, holding up his hands. "Ugh! Fine! We'll do it your way. We'll wait. A few days, Alfred. That's it. After that, we will have to assume the worse. I will have to report to the other angels what happened."

"Yeah, okay," Alfred stopped his half-hearted attacks to give his friend a reassuring shoulder-grab. "That's a few days from now. We have plenty of time. And no mind games, either!"

Arthur scoffed and grabbed Alfred's hand off his shoulder as the tea kettle started to whistle. "That's unnecessary." He quickly planted a kiss to his knuckles and hurried to attend the stove.

Why did he do that. Why did he have to do that? Alfred just said no funny feelings and here he was sitting on the bed full of them. He swiped the back of his hand against the blankets and decided it was time to get on his feet. "Where are my glasses?"

"On the nightstand by the door. Would you like a cup?"

"Sure, but are we going to get something to eat?"

"You don't even have trousers on, and you want to stuff your face." Alfred wandered around the bed with a shrug, but Arthur let out a weak laugh, "I suppose we'll go back to your place first. Get something warm on, other than your pajamas, and then we'll make another round around town. See if anything new popped up."

"And get some food?"

"Of course. Fat arse."

"What?!"

"I said your tea is ready."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

There was some sort of senior hosted-breakfast at the town hall that morning. Neat. There was also a bingo game scheduled right after. Again, neat. One thing old people loved more than bingo was a breakfast buffet.

It was bittersweet. Alfred giggled at the old folk's drama all around him, their reminiscing, and even got Arthur to laugh, although it was after being thoroughly disgusted from smiling with a mouth full of apple slices. If stuffing his face and laughing over that worried voice in the back of his head was a coping mechanism, so be it.

That bled into lunch time, and a lot of the crowd cleared out to come back later, but Alfred stayed to offer help for the Church goers, to clean up all those trays and burners, if it meant on bringing on the bingo quicker.

"School's out, huh?" One of the elders flashed a gummy grin, "That's just fine. You can lay out the cards. One for each chair."

Alfred shot him a salute. "Sure thing!"

Arthur came over to 'help,' but gave a heads-up, "I just checked in with Antonio. Nothing yet. We could stay for a game or two..."

"Hello again!" The bingo-host lady approached the pair to give Alfred's arm a squeeze. "It's good to see you two."

"Thanks, you too!" Alfred wondered why all these dang old folks liked to constantly pinch and pat and grab him. Artie didn't do that. He glanced to where the grumpy pigeon fluttered away from social interaction, to a few tables over with his own stack of bingo cards. Now that he wasn't talking to anybody, a scowl burned holy light into the cards as he dished them around the room.

Bingo Lady lingered, tidying anything out of her place at Alfred's table, and did that closed-mouth laugh that someone did when they were up to something. "Are you two related?"

"Huh? Artie and I? Nah." Alfred tried keep his tone chipper, "He's not my babysitter, either, before anybody asks!"

"Oh, honey, I didn't think so." More suspicious laughter. "Are you two close then?"

"You _could _say that." They drink tea and chase demons together. Alfred looked for Arthur again, who was staring back with those monstrosities-for-eyebrows creeping together. His heart started to bang around again. There was a lot of chatter around the room; no way he could have heard that.

The burly woman touched Alfred's shoulder. "Your secret is safe with me."

Alfred picked up his head, eyes going wide in alarm. Was Arthur's glowing really _that _obvious?

Soon all the cards were on the tables, and Alfred choose one of the tables that were in the first row to the podium, but in the far corner. Arthur swung by a few moments afterwards, and Al yanked out a chair. "Sit down next to me! Quick!"

"Oh, Lord, what?"

"I dunno." Alfred pretended to swipe a hand over his forehead in relief. "I didn't want any weird old people all against me. 'sides you. You're fine."

Arthur gave him some strange side-eye as he reached for a bag of bingo chips. "There's still a while yet before the game starts, but it's best to be prepared."

"Oh, yeah, or else you'll kick my ass in bingo again, huh?" Arthur just turned his face away. Alfred butted his head against his shoulder a few times, but straightened as he caught Bingo Lady sneakily watching them from the corner of her eye. "I think she can totally see your glowing, man!"

Arthur snapped to face him, "What?!"

"Well, she asked me if we're related, but I said no, thank God!"

Arthur didn't laugh.

Alfred obnoxiously elbowed him. "Ha-ha, I'm kidding. I didn't thank God. Anyway, she told me, 'your secret is safe with me!' like it was all mysterious and stuff."

Arthur rolled his eyes and turned his head away again. "Idiot. She was implying we're together."

"But we've been here before?" The entire side of Arthur's face and ear got really pink. "Oh! _Oh._" Alfred dug at the back of his head, and this funny little laugh came out of his mouth, "It's like we're the neighborhood gay couple, without even being gay or a couple!"

Yikes.

Arthur slightly turned his head toward him. "Right."

"Um..._are_ you dating anybody?"

"No."

"Oh." Alfred nibbled on his lip as he eyed his company gazing blankly across the room. "Angels definitely can't do that kind of stuff, right?"

"Who said that?"

"Oh! Never mind. Weird." A moment of quiet. Alfred blurted, "Are you gay, though?" He quickly added as Arthur tilted his head, still not exactly breaking from his distant stare, "I'm not judging! I mean, my Dad, well, he'd go for anything and everything. And Mattie's got some serious vibes that he..."

Arthur came out a little sour, "Likes to cavort with demons?"

"Yeah," Alfred picked up his bingo card and flapped it around. "They're not even smoking hot demon chicks either."

"And you, Alfie?"

Alfred hunched his shoulders up, keeping his eyes on fiddling with his card. "Only the ladies call me Alfie, man."

"Ah, will I ever be forgiven?"

Alfred's eyes landed on the side of Arthur's face as soon as he glimpsed somewhere else. "Oh, yeah, uh, Heaven probably wouldn't like it if you..."

Arthur stared again. "What?"

Alfred immediately dropped his eyes to the table. "You know..."

Was Artie getting closer? "Yes, Al_fred_?"

"You know! Gay stuff!"

"Gay stuff?"

"Yeah, like what the Church and Bible say."

In the same tone Alfred used earlier, Arthur murmured, "_Oh,_ I'm not judging."

"That's cool. For other people."

"_Hmph._" Arthur popped his hands under his chin, and became a little loud, "Why you humans think we pull our feathers over something so _ridiculous _is beyond me. There are so many of you and so many different kinds, we have no time to worry about who fools around with who...unless it leaves a path of destruction in its wake. Like with a demon. For example, of course."

"Ew," Alfred agreed.

"It's just so _silly_ that you think-"

"I get it Arthur! Sheesh!"

Arthur shot him a dirty look, and as soon as he looked away again, Alfred sloppily did one of those cross-prayer things with his hand. The bingo host tapped on her microphone a couple of times. "Okay, everybody, we're still coming in, and the first game starts in five minutes! That's five minutes! If you take a look at our prizes..."

Alfred leaned to his occupied side to announce, "I'm going to win."

Arthur stepped on his foot.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

* * *

Neither of them won anything. Alfred guessed the time was worth the adventure and friends made along the way, rather than another gift card. He tugged his pull-over to his nose, bracing for the cold outside world, and exclaimed through the fabric, "Whoa! It's dark out! How long were we in there?!"

Arthur grumbled as the various other bingo-goers broke off to their own lives, "We _did _sleep the whole morning away. Not something I usually do." He sighed, "Now my sleeping schedule is messed up. God."

"Oh, yeah," Alfred elbowed his arm. "Good times, huh?"

Arthur turned his face away and pointed down the street. "Let's go this way and have a look around, in case we catch something Antonio didn't."

Right, the demon-patrol. "Sounds good." Alfred wondered what Artie would do if they bumped into the others casually walking around. He knew he was going to hug his brother before anything else.

Alfred kept his smile going down the street, until his cheeks went numb from the wind, and it slowly died as Arthur began rambling, "_Brr, _it's a cold day out, even for me. It's rather difficult to fly if it's too cold. Did you know that?" Al was a bit stunned to respond. "Although, of course, in the warmer weather, that poses flight risk, too."

"With the bugs flying around."

"I was going to say with the heat, but yes, those damned bugs."

Alfred made a face and looked both ways for once in his life before crossing the street. He passed a manhole cover, and stomped on it, but it didn't make as satisfying noise as he had hoped. It went quiet again.

Arthur harrumphed, "I think Matthew would fare quite well in a fight. You two are strong, healthy young men. Surely you can give a demon what it deserves if the time comes."

Alfred stared straight ahead.

Arthur sighed, "That's...that's implying that Matthew was kidnapped, but you may be right. He'll be back, and we'll all laugh over a nice, warm cuppa at how silly we over exaggerated."

"Okay, Arthur." Alfred loudly declared, "You can stop now."

"Stop what?!"

"This...this whole cheery act. It's okay. _I'm _okay. I can handle it. You think Mattie's not ever coming back. We'll just have to wait and see."

Arthur went silent for a few moments as they passed the Bonnefoy house. "There's a big chance he might not." He kept his tone low, but it still had an edge, "That doesn't mean it's impossible, but-"

"You sure weren't acting like that way before, you know."

Arthur's shoes scratched on the sidewalk as they reached the edge of the suburbs. "Well, pardon me for trying to make things a little more bearable!" Ah, there was the spice, "Losing someone close is never easy!"

Alfred hopped in front of him before he could go off the curb. "Oh, my God, he hasn't even been gone for a full day yet!"

Arthur grew louder like that would win him over, "He was trailing after a _demon _for crying out loud!"

"We get it! You don't like demons! Quit being such a downer all the time!"

"Get your head out of your arse!"

Alfred made an angry face, and reached to grab Arthur's nose to give it a hard tug.

"Ow! Ow, ow!" Skinny hands clamped on his arm to pry it from his face. Alfred let go to jam his numb fists in his pockets, nipping that screeching match in the bud. "What's that for?!"

"For being a grumpy jerk all the time!"

Arthur glared, and actually growled at Alfred. Completely not menacing. "Fine, whatever! Keep walking."

Alfred scrunched his cheek, fighting a smile before following. "Where? The road ends here, dude."

"And?" Arthur went around the metal road stopper, headed right for the woods.

Alfred stopped below the last street light. "Nuh-uh. Nope. No way! I am _not _going anywhere near there at this time of the night!"

Arthur spun around, putting his fists on his hips and goaded with obnoxious snark, "Not afraid of some demon, yet a few trees is enough to scare you off?"

"Sure! That's how horror movies start all the time! If you want to head in there, be my guest, but I'm not!"

Arthur almost smirked, but furrowed his eyebrows at the same time. He opened his mouth to say something, but his phone went off really loudly. Deaf old man. He cussed and dug around his coat pockets. "For fuck's sake. Who's...oh!" He held a finger up, "One moment, Alfred." Then, he proceeded to put the phone to his ear and shouted, "What the Hell do you want?!"

Alfred whistled and propped himself against the road barrier, but it was super cold, so he decided to just stand there. Arthur became animated, stomping a foot in the grass, throwing a hand to his side...

"Crud, man," Alfred muttered to himself when he started getting the feel-good tingles from just watching. Maybe something got knocked loose from all those times Arthur smacked him. _Oh, but at least the angel was not judging._

"What?!" Alfred jumped at the sudden screech. "_Now_?! You saw it..." Arthur gawked at nothing in particular as his mouth hung open, much less photogenic now. "Wait, a car was stuck...in a _sewer opening_? What are you...you saw the _thing_ come out of...with Matthew?! All right!" A some-what smile blessed his face as he pressed his phone to his chest and sighed at the stars.

Alfred heard his brother's name. "Artie?"

Arthur turned away, putting the phone back to his ear, "Yes, I'm aware. I'm going now. Yes, I'll take care of it. Don't get involved! I'll be fine! Whatever, afterwards, go ahead. Bye!" He snapped his phone shut and faced Alfred with a suddenly blank face. "I need to go."

"Wait, is Mattie around?"

Arthur lifted an arm and pointed behind Alfred.

Alfred spun around with an excited gasp, "Mattie?!"

Nobody was there. He turned toward Arthur to pout at the cruel joke, but he wasn't there either! "What the fuuuuuuuuuuck?"

Alfred took a couple of steps onto the road, squinting at the dark shapes between the houses and trees for any creepers. Without anything, he jammed his hands into his pants pockets, and marched toward his house, freaking out the whole way there, "Freaking angels. Freaking mind powers. Freaking Arthur!"

Alfred looked up in surprise as he noticed the kitchen light was on. "Mattie?!" He quickly glanced back, skittering to an uncertain stop as a distant glow peeked from the field he just came from few minutes ago. He looked to the house again, weaving side-to-side. If that was Matthew in the house, then why did he leave the door open?

Burglars?! Alfred ran up the porch, fists ready, and threw his head around the empty rooms. "Hello?!" Matthew's book bag was on the counter, and he slouched his shoulders. "Oh, man! Mattie!" Nobody was in the kitchen. There was an ice pack on the floor, and he picked it up, turning it over in confusion before sticking it back in the freezer. "Mattie!"

Seriously? If nobody was home, then why were all the lights on?! Light. That glowing off in the distance wasn't a human one. Alfred peeled out of the house like his butt was on Hellfire.

"Crap, crap, crap! Crap!"

Some screechy noise broke from the skies. Alfred tripped and his hands flew to clamp over his ears. He looked up, but didn't see anything. "What the fuck was that?!"

The cold wind picked up, tugging at his clothes and spreading its crawl over his skin. Something was following him. Another screech. Alfred glanced up again with a gasp, eyes jumping around the darkness, but still, there was nothing there.

There didn't _seem _to be anything there.

The last light on the street flickered and went out. Alfred let out a yell and started shuffling backwards, unable to peel his eyes from the shadows descending upon his head. He leaped backwards, just as something enormous crashed into the grass, and caught himself before he could fall on his butt at the most inopportune time.

Some of the shadows dispersed beneath the street light and reflected two glints looming over Alfred, and he knew exactly what, or who, he was looking at.

"Agh! Demon!"

"Agh! Human!"

Wait, what?

Alfred lowered the fists he raised as wisps of shadows leaked from the ginormous dark tangle, revealing Ivan's pale (and honestly, pissed off) face. A demon undisguised. It still looked like him, but..._ugh._ "Seriously, dude?"

Ivan took a step forward with a little giggle. "Yessssssss." Did he really have to hiss like that? Alfred held an arm in front of his chest, warning him not to come closer. "Not so funny on my end, is it?"

Of course, he had to act like a big tough guy, slowly unfolding his featherless wings to loom over Alfred...even though he was honestly a big tough guy to begin with, but the whole pupils shrunk to angry slits, fangs protruding from his lips ordeal? Alfred felt more disturbed than scared. Matthew liked this thing? Arthur was right; "Ugh."

"Where is your brother?!"

Alfred flinched from demon spit flying everywhere. Matthew wasn't with him? He remarked in the same pissy tone, "Yeah, Ivan, where is my brother?"

Ivan practically stuck his big ol' nose right in Alfred's face despite the elbow jabbing into his chest. "That pretty little angel of yours stole him away from me! Where is he?!"

Away from _him?_ Oh, please. Alfred pulled a bunch of funky faces from hot breath hitting his cheek, but the demon-creature seemed to be completely and rudely ignoring the personal-space memo. "What, you think we're playing hide-and-seek? He suddenly went _pah! _Disappeared without telling me anything! I want to know where he went, too!"

Ivan suddenly jerked away, letting the cold grab a hold of Alfred again. "That is a shame!" He gleefully announced, totally unashamed, "You did not say goodbye to him before I rip his wings from his back and _stuff them down his throat!_"

"What?!" Alfred went to grab Ivan, but Ivan leaped into the night sky with a loud swoop of wings and shadow. Al held his arms up, catching himself from stumbling backwards. "Hey!" Of course the demon didn't stop. "No! Not on my watch!"

If Alfred could go neck-to-neck with Arthur's flight during that time they were scouring for Ivan, then surely he could easily pass that huge lug! He sprinted forward, the cold air howling in his ears to discourage him, but when Ivan let out a high growl, it sounded like it came from behind him, and he kept going. They were both aiming for that unnatural light amongst the dormant trees just ahead. Al didn't know what he would do or say when he got there, but he just knew he had to get there first.

The demon's clumsy flight was everywhere in his ears, but Alfred liked to imagine he was lagging. There, closer. Arthur was on the ground beside a pond, undisguised, in a white dress-looking thing now, and his glow was bright enough to show that a soaked Matthew was on top of him.

Nothing exciting, except that he was choking Arthur!

"What the fuck you guys?!" Didn't they know a demon was well on his way to mess everything up?

Obviously not.

Arthur's hands flailed and smacked Matthew's head, but only angry choking noises came out as Matthew had him completely pinned. Okay, Alfred knew he didn't like the guy, but seriously?!

Matthew was super pissed, "You keep your fucking hands off of me-"

Alfred grabbed his brother's shoulder and ripped him from Arthur. Matthew's legs flew in the air as Arthur scrambled to his knees, coughing and spitting. "Dude! Why were you trying to strangle Arthur?!"

Matthew smacked his hand away and snapped, "He was trying to drown me!"

That's probably the reason he was doused and shivering violently. Alfred turned to Arthur, looking like a soaked pigeon in the grass. "Dude, why were you trying to drown Mattie?!"

"I was not!" Arthur's wings gave a little twitch, flinging droplets of water everywhere. "If I were trying to drown him, the little fool would be dead now! I am surprised he is even alive at the moment, since he has one of the worse cases of demonic possession I ever seen in my life!"

Mattie didn't look possessed, but he also didn't make it a habit to choke people, let alone angels. Alfred took a nervous glance to the dark sky, startled, and leaped forward as Arthur lunged for Matthew with a furious growl.

Matthew jerked from the grabby hands reaching for him and croaked, "I am _not _possessed by any demon! Why do you keep saying that?!"

Arthur wreathed, and spittle flew out his mouth as Alfred put another hand over his shoulder, so maybe _somebody _could explain themselves. "Why, you-"

"If I was possessed," Matthew sneered, "do you think he would have taken me back home when I asked him to?!"

Arthur pointed a finger at him, and glanced to Alfred, "This is exactly what I mean!" Alfred just felt confused, and probably looked it, too, so Artie said to Matthew, "It does not even cross your mind to consider getting help! Alfred!" Arthur's wings wiggled as he tried to get up, but Al still pinned him back. "Help me get him back in the water!"

Matthew scrambled backwards as Alfred glanced between the both of them.

A loud shriek erupted from the sky. They all looked up, and Alfred leaped to his feet, trying to pin the source of flapping and shadows. "I think we have other things to worry about!"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

* * *

Loud snarling was too close, too all-over-the-place, and all the guys in the meadow swung their heads around like idiots, trying to pinpoint where the demon was coming from. Alfred yelped when a _whoosh _sailed right over his head, and he dove to the side, practically flopping on top of his brother to put his own back to the darkness.

However, the mess of shadows pummeled into Arthur instead. "What? Hey!"

A loud holler, and the light vanished and then peeked out again as Arthur and the demon rolled against the grass. Alfred almost leaped after them, to tear them from one another, but apparently fights in real life are much more quicker and sloppier than the ones in movies. He kind of didn't want to get into it for his own safety.

But dang it, for the safety of his friend-

Alfred yelped as a hand clamped on his shoulder, but it was Matthew pulling himself to sit and blink dumbly. "Alfred, I can't see anything. What's happening?!"

Alfred scanned the near calamity of Ivan floundering around, cackling as Arthur hurried to keep away from his outstretched claws. They came close enough for something to glint in the grass. "I see your glasses! Hold on!"

"Al!"

He lunged forward just as heavy and fast footsteps came right at him. Alfred squashed himself flat on the ground and clamped a hand over his head as someone snapped, "Stay down!" Arthur huffed and glided over him, and continued to run away.

Alfred picked up his head, blinking in surprise before scrambling back to Matthew. His voice rose in fright as another body full of snarling lumbered right over where he was a second ago, "I got them! Eek!"

Matthew jammed his glasses into place and gasped, "Are you all right?!"

"Uh, I think so!" At least he wasn't the one all soaked in the middle of the night. "Are _you? _You're freaking wet, dude!"

"Um, yeah! Thanks for noticing, but, oh, I don't know. I think Arthur did something that..." Matthew shook his head in urgency. "Ugh! I don't matter right now!"

Alfred asked, "What are we going to do?"

"Do you really want to get in the middle of _that_?!"

"We can't just sit here and watch!"

"What do you expect to do?" Matthew retorted as their friends twisted and flipped and spun around each other. "Do _you _have any plans for breaking them apart?"

Maybe getting a big rope and throwing it around Ivan...but then that would take getting one in the first place. Huh. Getting in there and possibly getting trampled or wacked with a wing wasn't appealing either. Ivan snapped an insult to Arthur, who bristled and twisted underneath an outstretched arm, and smacked him right upside the head.

Alfred flashed a grin over his shoulder. "Actually, it's funny you asked that!" He sprung to his feet and cupped his hands over his mouth, "Hey! Numb-nuts! Stupid demon-thing! Arthur! Yo! Caterpillar-Brows! Stop fighting!" Okay, they must be purposely ignoring him, because those were some sick roasts he was tossing around. "Mattie, come on, call off your demon, would you?"

Matthew sighed like he was annoyed by it all as he clutched onto Alfred's sweater to hoist himself to stand. "Ivan! Ivan, it's okay!" He cried like they were in a small room instead of an open field, "I'm all right! You guys...ugh, Alfred, this isn't working!"

No wonder. Alfred stomped his feet on the ground and swished his arms above his head, "Hellooooo! Stop fighting already! You're both going to rip each other apart! Not cool!"

Arthur's foot slipped as Ivan threw an arm out, and he scooted backwards with a glance toward the twins. "Stay out of this, boys!"

He freaking sounded afraid! Of this demon, who wore high heels, and ate chocolate-covered potatoes. "For fuck's sake!" Alfred lifted his leg to peel of his sneaker. Ivan laughed and wagged his tail happily, like this was some game, and didn't even notice the flying shoe until it bounced off one of the horns curling from the side of his head.

Ivan jerked to a stop, letting out a snort and suddenly stopped smiling. His head slowly tipped as he turned to steadily stare at Alfred. Then, he started to smile again, real slow and wide this time. "Angel's boy!" He charged toward Alfred.

"Agh!" Alfred shook his arms, not knowing why his legs decided to be stiff and not do something smart like backing away at that moment. "Nice demon?!"

Not nice demon. Not anymore. Alfred was yanked back, and Matthew shouldered in front of him. "Okay, you can stop! Ivan, please! Alfred was just being stupid!" A high-pitched, almost delighted growl drowned whatever he was staying. Mattie flinched and hollered really loud this time, "Don't come over here!"

Alfred peeled open his eyes as the footsteps and his brother's yelling went quiet. He peeked over Matthew's shoulder, and Ivan was using his raised hand to touch his face, thankfully not ripping anybody apart. He whispered, "Matthew?"

Alfred clutched onto Matthew's shoulders, pulling him from the gross demon claw and warned, "Hey..."

"Don't look so scared." The demon took one of Matthew's hands and put it to his forehead in some kind of calmer gesture. "I won't hurt you."

"That includes my brother, Ivan."

Alfred scrunched his face up as Ivan lowered Matthew's hand from his face to steadily stare at him. "I am sorry, but I was in the moment and he threw something at me."

Matthew actually laughed at that, "He's an idiot."

"Wha...hey!"

"Did the angel hurt you?" Some gross cooing, "You are soaked."

"I'm not cold, surprisingly. It's all right. I'm all right. Relax."

Usually, nobody relaxes when someone tells them to relax, but when Matthew lifted his other hand to touch the side of Ivan's face, things actually started to look better. Being totally third-wheeled, Alfred's eyes jumped to movement behind Ivan. Arthur slowly pushed himself from the grass, delivering his most powerful scowl into the demon's backside.

"Uh-uh," Alfred stammered, "Arthur!"

That was stupid. Ivan spun around, screeching in shock at the angel's sneaky approach. He swiped an arm after him, but Arthur did this ninja-roll forward and sprung up in front of the twins. Matthew took a step back, but wound up stepping on Alfred's other sneaker as Artie threw an arm out, now holding...a wand?

"Not so fast!"

Alfred bawked at the cheap little thing, "Is that a freaking dollar store toy?!"

Ivan went to prod one of the star's points. "Is it?"

"Be quiet back there." Arthur rolled his shoulders so his wings would stretch before the brothers. "Stay away from these boys and I _may _just let you crawl back to where you came from in one piece!" Ivan jerked his hand away as Arthur waved his 'weapon' at him. "You can stop things from getting out of hand, before you or anyone else gets hurt."

Ivan didn't even take a second to consider, "Me stop things? But I have not started anything! Matthew and I were just relaxing, and then, out of nowhere, you..._popped up _and stole him away!" He smiled and made a beckoning gesture, "If you so kindly give him back, I will consider not plucking each and every feather from your wings, yes?"

Like a chicken. Alfred would have laughed, if things weren't so tense. Arthur, of course, didn't find the same humor, and coldly replied, "You think I'm going to surrender any soul to the likes of _you_?"

Ivan tipped his head and pouted. "Why not?"

Really. And Matthew liked this guy.

Arthur stammered, "Why...I will not!"

"You must mean you cannot." Alfred tightened his grip on Matthew's shoulders as Ivan took a step closer to Arthur, as if he wasn't towering over him already. "You will get into a lot of trouble with the Big Wings if you do."

Okay...they were talking. Talking was good. Talking was better than plucking wings.

Ivan continued with a cocky smile, "That must be very annoying, not able to do whatever-"

Arthur shrieked and threw his arm up, cutting Ivan in the cheek with his...uh, 'weapon.' Ivan flinched and stumbled backwards. Alfred wanted to cry out, "You ruined it!" but now the big lug was freaking out over a dollar store toy replica.

"You! I warned you!" Arthur marched right after Ivan's uncertain withdrawal, intimidating such a large creature. "I warned you before, and I warned you again! Yet you did not listen! Your kind _never _listens! The only way you will ever learn is if you die!"

Ivan tried to say something, but Arthur's wand brightened, and this huge gust of light shot out from it, engulfing him in what had to be some holy light. Arthur reeled backwards as Ivan let out this horrible screech of pain.

Matthew yanked forward, yelling, "Ivan!"

Alfred's grasp almost slipped. "Wait! Don't go over there!"

Matthew snapped his head to glare with tears streaming down his face. Or it may have been pond water. Most likely tears with the way he was shouting, "Your boyfriend is hurting him!"

"He's not-!" Alfred groaned in urgency, "That's not important right now! _You _could get hurt, and two people hurting is worse than one!"

A strange expression flickered across Matthew's features, almost like was...disappointed? He hunched his shoulder from Alfred's touch and turned back to the battle. Alfred kept a good hold on the back of his hoodie, of course, trying to ignore the thought of himself being a hypocrite.

It seemed like Arthur won...right? No, wait, Ivan grabbed a thin wrist and yanked him clean off of the ground. Wait, Arthur just blasted him full of light again. Wait...

Ivan resigned? He stopped chasing Arthur with homicidal intent, and looked to the brothers with odd mirth on his dirt-streaked face. "I think it will be a bad thing for all of us if I kill you."

Arthur laughed.

Ivan uncertainly joined in.

"Sorry, _abomination. _I can't help you there." Alfred didn't like that expression on Arthur. "If I don't kill you, well, let's just say things will not be as sunshine and roses like you think they'll be."

The field shook as an enormous shock wave flew out of Arthur's palms. Ivan bounced along the ground like a rag doll. What a train-wreck. A demon-wreck. Ha. After that particularly rough flight, Ivan didn't get up right away. Now, it had to be done. Arthur can now stop policing around, and they could shoo Ivan back to Hell, or maybe actually sit down and talk business, whatever angels and demons do with 'negotiations.'

Arthur kept stalking toward his fallen figure, and the light around him intensified.

Alfred gasped, wanting to look away, but a ping of _pity _hit his stomach, for the creature on the ground nursing a stream of blood coming from his head. "Fuck, dude!" He yelled to Matthew, "At this point, I think we should grab Arthur before he does something drastic!"

"Like he hasn't done something drastic already?!"

Alfred cringed, knowing he had to approach the supernaturals real sooner than later, but...

Matthew lifted his arm in the air and started to swing it around.

Alfred gawked. "What are you doing?!" Arthur was totally about to liquefy Ivan's brains and Matthew just stood there, flapping his hands like a dumbass-

A giant cloud sailed across the clearing, right toward them! Alfred yelled as Matthew held his arms out. Ivan materialized from the darkness, and pummeled him to the ground. Alfred tore his other shoe off, honestly spooked because he thought only angels could do _that_, but Matthew sputtered against the beast, "No! It's all right!"

"Mattie!" Alfred dissented as his brother slipped away to leap over Ivan and crouch in front of him.

Arthur was there, too. He stumbled to a stop and glared at Matthew. "What are you doing?!"

Matthew's arms obviously shook as he held them out from his sides, shielding his buddy from the angel. "Th-that's enough, don't you think?"

Arthur scoffed, "Nothing is enough until that demon is dead!"

Alfred crouched, eying the blood caked to the side of Ivan's head. Even if it was demon blood, his hand went out to touch the horn sticking out of smothered near-white hair, but when Ivan slowly turned his face toward him with an annoyed (and beat up) expression, he jerked away to scoot closer to his brother. "Dead? But-"

"Why?" Matthew sounded a bit too annoyed for a plea, "He didn't do anything to harm anybody or jeopardize his identity! I'm not even brainwashed like you think I am. Why can't you leave us alone?!"

Arthur slowly knelt in front of Matthew, still steadily staring at him, and pointed at a rough swelling on his cheek. "Do you see what you did to me when I tried to help you? Yet you are claiming that you know you have done it completely and utterly on your own will? Without _influence_?"

Matthew looked down. Alfred gasped, "Whoa! You did that?!" He thought Ivan somehow got him during their spat. He wasn't sure to be offended or impressed.

However, Arthur wasn't amused, and reached over to shove Alfred back to the ground when he crawled over to investigate. Now Alfred _really _didn't like his face. "Well, Matthew?!"

Matthew scrunched his nose, but kept staring at the ground. "Yeah. I thought you were trying to drown me. You didn't exactly say you were 'cleansing' me, or whatever you call it."

Ivan leaned himself against Matthew's backside and weakly giggled, "You do not need it in the first place. My Matthew is very clean-"

Arthur jabbed a palm in his direction, chastising, "Be quiet, demon." Alfred caught the amused look Ivan sent to anybody that was paying attention as Artie said to Matthew, "It may have not done anything to you yet, but it is mandatory to take care of these things when they arise."

A small smile made its way to Arthur. Finally. "I forgive you, and I hope you forgive any urgency I may have had." Were they _really _talking this time? Alfred started to like Artie's face again. "You are a kind spirit. I know you boys cannot resist to help someone you believe is in need," a funny look to Alfred, "but I insist that you no longer roam with a demon...or whatever you have between yourselves."

Matthew snorted, "Forgive you? He's not just a demon, you know. He's my friend."

Alfred scratched his nose to cover his smile, but Arthur's expression fell to its typical pissy look. "Uh-huh. Sure. Why would you want to suffocate amongst the fires of Hell when you can join us, and nurture and praise life as you know it? This is what we do Matthew. I am not aiming to harm you in anyway, but I must cut the weeds choking your roots it if means for you to grow."

Guardian angel, all their asses! Alfred was about to call him out on it, but Ivan leaned forward again and whispered something he didn't catch to Matthew. Matthew lightly shouldered him back, hushing, "You're going to make him angry. More angry." He glanced back to Arthur and shrugged. "It's a nice offer, but I...I want to help Ivan. We're just going out and having fun. No eating souls, no jabbing people with pitchforks!"

Ivan guffawed despite being totally bruised all over, "I don't need pitchforks! I use my fists!"

"Ivan," Matthew warned over his shoulder.

"Sorry, Matthew."

Arthur nodded. Hopefully it was in agreement, and not to shut them up. "All of God's children eventually return home. There is no need to rush. These things take well-needed time."

They smiled. Everyone was smiling. Matthew and Ivan and Alfred smiled at each other. Alfred wanted a hug now. His brother was all right and not mind-boggled by a demon. At least, not in a bad way.

Arthur's wings started to uncurl from his back; he wasn't smiling with them.

"Matthew, those creatures are no longer considered Children of God! I cannot, and will not turn the other way while it continues to prance around!"

Alfred smacked his forehead. "Arthur, really?!"

Matthew grew equally snippy, "So, you'll let me go after this, but Ivan has to suffer because of my choices?!"

Ivan groaned, obviously annoyed, but probably in pain, too.

"Shut up, Alfred." Arthur retorted to Matthew, "It is its own being, too, with its own choices! I warned it to back off, and yet it still stayed! A demon's temper brings innocent people at risk!" He shoved himself to his feet, preaching about Ivan's temper when his own face was getting flushed, "I am doing this for the safety of everyone else!"

Alfred snapped, "Stop being stubborn, would you?!"

Ivan growled as Matthew shot to stand as well. "No! He isn't doing anything wrong!"

Arthur threw back at Alfred, "I. Said. Shut. Up!" His glower fell on Matthew again, "You! You're putting all of your bets on a creature that may not love you tomorrow?!"

Matthew balled his hands to fists and opened his mouth, but...nothing came out.

Arthur scoffed, almost sounding sad. "Look at you. You know it deep down, don't you?"

Matthew suddenly _snarled, _like some kind of wild animal, "Shut up, Arthur!"

Goose bumps erupted beneath Alfred's clothes. Arthur wouldn't have any of it, "You ignorant little boy. I was beginning to see the drive of your feelings, assuming your soul still needed to grow, but this...!"

Matthew flinched when Arthur threw an arm out to Ivan. Alfred's heart was pounding again, in a totally not-okay manner this time. "Who do you think nurtures and takes care of your spirits when you pass on? That's right. I do. After you damn your soul for the rest of its time on this flimsy hope...well, that's your choice."

"Artie-"

Arthur stamped a foot on the ground, inhaling deeply, and let it out with a quiet laugh. "Lord, I tried." Weird. He spoke much more calmly than he did a few seconds ago, "No matter how much we try to nurse some souls, they let themselves be seduced by the darkness too easily. Like they don't want us. Almost pitiful."

No, that light flaring around him...that was not a calm thing at all! When Arthur raised his hands toward him, Matthew stumbled backwards and turfed on his butt. Looks like Alfred had to be the hero. He scrambled to his feet, over legs and over his brother to shove himself onto Arthur. "Artie, no!"

Cold, clammy hands pushed against his face as Arthur stumbled backwards to get away. "What in the world are you doing?!"

The bright glow became whitewash over Alfred's eyes as he felt his glasses fling from his ears. So, he just squeezed Arthur's waist tighter. "Mattie! Go! I got him!"

"What? Are you sure?!"

Turns out, it's a little more difficult than Alfred thought to keep a grip on a creature with giant wings and smack-happy hands. "Yep!" He grunted as a palm planted below his throat and feebly shoved. "We got stuff to talk about anyway!"

Arthur shouted at the sounds of feet scurrying away in the grass. "Oh, no, you don't!" His wiggling intensified, "Let go of me! Get back here, you two!" Nasty fingers latched onto Alfred's ears and yanked. "You are not siding with that demon!"

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut as they watered from the abuse, and he plucked Arthur from the ground. Arthur's hands let go of his ears to fly around his head in panic. "I'm siding with my brother! I just want him to be happy! If he's chill with staying here, and if he keeps the demon-dude in his place, then let him! Ugh!"

Alfred hoped his brother caught that, but they may have been long gone. He didn't blame them. Arthur clamped his palms against Alfred's jaw and forced his gaze upward. He was furiously pink and pissed off, practically snarling right in his face, "Alfred Bonnefoy, you are _not _in the position to place command over me!"

Yet he tries to do the same? With his arms and legs and wings shaking and twitching helplessly? Hell no. "Really, dude?" Alfred would have laughed if he could get the air in, "You want to talk about positions right now? Urgh, I'm not the one kicking and screaming like a cranky toddler!"

The cranky toddler smacked him on the side of the head. "This is serious business, young man!"

Alfred sucked breath between his teeth and readjusted his slipping grip, "I am being serious! Go on! Do your crazy angel magic if you want to get away so bad!"

Arthur spat incoherently as he thrashed, but didn't get free. Maybe he couldn't? That fight may have taken a lot out of him as it did Ivan. Those clammy hands grabbed at Alfred's shoulders as he heaved, wings furiously flapping. Alfred, still stubbornly locked around his waist, found himself stumbling forward to keep his catch.

Something must have been miscalculated, as they went _too _far, yelling as they fell forward (or backwards, respectively), and broke apart as they hit the frosty grass.

"What in the world are you doing?!"

Alfred near-blindedly launched himself at the figure of light and squashed him back on the ground. "Don't you dare go after my brother!"

"Ow! _Ow!_" Arthur yelped, and a wing that bent over Alfred's shoulder repeatedly slapped him in the face. "Get off! You're crushing me!"

Of course, Alfred couldn't do that, but he wasn't going to go around breaking wings to get his own way, so he diplomatically swooped backwards and shifted his weight to the expanse of skin between those said wings. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Arthur, but you're being a real jerk right now!"

Arthur twisted his head to the side, calling over his shoulder, "Me being a jerk?! You little fuck-wit! Unhand me at once! There is a demon getting away at this moment, and you're stopping me from stopping him?! This is Heavenly business you're interfering with!"

"Business?! Blasting people's faces off is _business?!_" Arthur kept trying to violently wiggle beneath Alfred, still going strong after that little fight with the demon. He actually managed to get an arm free from under himself, but didn't try to drag himself away, which Al was prepared for. He started to smack anywhere he could reach. "Oh, ow! No way, man!" Alfred held an arm out to block the feeble attacks, "You're just gonna run over there...ow! And try to do it again!"

"Well, maybe they should get their faces blasted off, you fucker!" Alfred managed to pin the offending arm to the grass again, which only made Arthur's voice crack with all that ugly screaming, "Unhand me this instant, or else I...I...I-!"

Alfred busted into laughter, "You'll what?!"

"I will do terrible things!"

"Lame, dude!"

"I'll show you lame," Arthur snarled. He jerked his head back. Then did it again.

Alfred stared, dumbfounded. "Are you...trying to _head-butt _me?"

"Be quiet! Let me go! I can't believe you right now!"

Alfred glanced behind himself, squinting, but it sounded like Matthew's and Ivan's indistinct voices were long gone. "I can't believe _you! _What happened to you back there? It almost seemed like you were about to kill my brother!"

"What?!" Arthur shrieked, noisily enough to hurt Alfred's ears. "I-I wasn't going to do that!"

"Then, what _were _you doing, Arthur?"

Arthur put a hand to his eyes.

"Seriously?!"

"Shut up, Alfred! I don't...I don't know, all right?!"

"What do you mean you don't know? You almost blasted Matthew's face off with holy light!"

"He was with a demon!"

"Yeah! Willingly!"

"That's...no! That doesn't happen!"

"Why, Arthur? Because the other angels say so?"

"Yes! No! Argh! Stop it! Stop saying those things!"

"Or what?!" More gently, Alfred leaned down to peek at his friend's face, "Are _your _brains going to liquefy now?"

Arthur clamped a hand on the back of his head.

Alfred relinquished his hold, trying to sternly tell him off, "Don't hurt them."

It came out as a plea.

Arthur thrashed once free, rolling over to his side and spat out, "Alfred."

"Don't!"

Again, "Alfred." Arthur pushed himself to his hands and knees, but gasped as he grabbed his shoulder. He shook his head as Alfred rushed over to hover. "Listen to me. It's only a matter of time before the others are going to get a hold of this and come after us for answers. Even if this is all just some...off-kilter demon and your brother having extremely low standards, they're not going to see it that way! I _must _do something. Or they will."

"Yeah, something that doesn't involve blasting people into holy bits! There's got to be another way!"

As sharp as ever, "Like what, Alfred?!"

Alfred looked around. There was just grass and trees. "Like, um...we'll think of something! We always do!"

"Well, time's not a luxury we have at the moment." Arthur stared at the ground, and murmured, "Perhaps I should pray."

Alfred clamped his hands on Arthur's before he could pull himself to a praying position, "No! They're just going to tell you to blast them away!"

Arthur gave him a hard look. "Then, maybe I should!"

"No! Don't!" Quieter, but urging, "Please. Don't. Arthur. We can talk about this." Alfred blinked. Gasped, "We can talk about this!"

"No. They'll obliterate them. Without remorse. That's why _we _need to go after them-"

"That's not what I mean! Do you really, _really_ want to kill Mattie?"

"Ugh, of course not, idiot, but-"

"You wanna kill Ivan?"

Arthur scoffed.

"Doing so would make Mattie sad, and Mattie being sad would make me really sad!"

"I-it would be an act of mercy..."

Alfred leaned in. "Do you _really _want to do it? That's all I'm asking. Yes or no."

"N-no, Alfred. I don't." Arthur quickly glanced around like another angel would pop out of the grass and point and yell, 'Ooh! I heard that! I'm telling Dad! You're in trouble!'

None did.

Alfred clamped a hand on his shoulder, making him jump, and flashed a thumbs-up. "That's all I need."

Arthur sat in the grass, blinking stupidly as Alfred sprung to his feet and went to hunt for his glasses and sneakers. "What?"

There the glasses were, thankfully only dewy from the grass. Alfred gently scrubbed his shirt over them before popping them back onto his face and slipped his sneakers back onto his poor numb feet. "Yep!" He chirped. "If you're willing to talk to the guy civilly, maybe we can ask him to go screw off, back to Hell or something! Maybe, like, he'll be cool with it."

"You...you want to talk to him?" Arthur's momentary marvel fell into a typical scowl. "Talk to him. Right. You want to go up to a demon...and _talk _to it. Would you like some tea to go along with that?"

Alfred jested, "Hey, yeah! If you don't mind!"

Arthur ducked his head, muttering, "Oh, for fuck's sake. That's your grand idea? That's what's on the table?"

"Besides blasting people?"

"Besides blasting people."

"Yep. That's it. Actually, I think I'm going to talk to Mattie, and then Mattie could talk to Ivan, and then maybe they could work something out."

"Like going back to Hell?"

"Hey, yeah! Maybe!"

"You would let your brother go like that?"

Alfred made a face, turning away so Arthur wouldn't see it. "He'd still be alive, right? And if it's what he wants, good for him. As long as he's happy."

"You don't know if he'll stay like that! A life in Hell...that's...that's atrocious!"

"Ooh, nice word." Alfred held out a hand, beckoning the angel to get off his butt. "Come on, Grumpy Gums. Are you just going to grovel in the grass all night, or do you want to be a hero?"

"What?" Finally, Arthur let out a short laugh. "That's...don't be an idiot." He latched onto Alfred's hand, and with a strained grunt, pulled from the ground. He stumbled forward, catching onto his chest.

"Whoa!" Alfred's hands hovered, unsure where to put themselves. "You going to be all right?"

Arthur jerked, taking a few uneven steps back as he brushed down his grass-stained toga. "I'm fine! This is nothing."

"Sure. It's okay if it's not. You've done enough." More than enough. Seriously. Alfred kept that down. "If you want to sit this one out, I got it."

"That's not necessary. Let's go. The more time we waste here, the bigger the chance of someone discovering that demon's still on the loose."

"Okay..." Alfred grinned as they slowly made their way down the street. He kept an arm ready behind the angel's back, just in case he needed it. "That means we're going to have to see a _demon _face-to-face, and talk like 'normal' people. You know how Ivan is. He'll be saying shit, and Mattie's probably still ruffled up about everything, so he'll be there, too-"

Arthur audibly grinded his jaw. "You know what? I'll sit this one out. Only because you insist that you're a demon-whisperer or some sort. Whatever. Go talk to that thing. I don't feel like looking at his face, and...ugh." He gave Alfred a long look, his scowls still powerful after everything. "If anything happens, you scream as loud as you can, and I will come down there and-"

"Ha-ha, yep! What a great idea." Alfred tenderly patted Arthur's back, nonchalantly pushing him toward the Bonnefoy house. Arthur tossed a _pout _over his shoulder before a twitch of the wings took him up the side of the house and onto the rooftop. Ever grateful, "Thanks, Arthur."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

* * *

Matthew was the true hero. He turned on the heat in the house, so it was just getting warm by the time Alfred came around. His fingers and cheeks were stiff, and he crouched before a vent in the floor and rubbed his hands together for a moment before trudging upstairs.

Alfred passed by his bedroom door, peeking at his poor bed that he missed dearly, but slowed at the sound of giggling from his brother's room. Ivan's giggling. Right after he got wrecked from an angel, he was giggling like a child.

Alfred pounded on the door. "Mattie, are you in there?"

Of course, he was, but it was a nice thing to do. Someone squeaked, "Eek!" Disgruntled whispering. Shuffling. A body fell to the floor. Matthew groaned in annoyance, "What is it, Alfred?"

"Dude," Alfred swung open the door, to his brother pulling himself from the floor, "we got to talk!" Ivan sat on the bed with a large gauze patch on the side of his face and even more tangled around one of his horns, but other than that, he didn't seem like he just got his butt kicked. "Preferably alone?"

Ivan waved, "Bye-bye!"

"Seriously?" Alfred asked.

Matthew rolled his eyes as he grabbed Alfred's shoulders, spun him around and pushed him out of his room. "Stay there, Ivan!"

"I was going to..."

Alfred started to get the heebie-jeebies and had to pace around. "Mattie, whatever happened, I'm glad you're okay, but things might get worse! What are we going to do?"

Matthew's eyes went super wide as he started to panic, "What do you mean what are we going to do? Is Arthur around? He is going to come here and...and like..._kill _us?"

Alfred stopped wearing holes in the floor to gawk at his brother. "Uh, hopefully not?! I mean, I did just spend a good chunk of my ear listening to him scream and bitch about your buddy being a demon and wanting to eat the whole world, but he's calmed down a bit for now."

"Oh, for now..." Matthew sighed and swung his head side-to-side, almost whining, "Al, this is so low-key. I don't know why everyone is making it into a big deal." He narrowed his eyes as Alfred started to jig. "Can't Arthur look the other way? Can't he leave us alone? We're not hurting anybody!"

That's what Alfred tried to tell Artie, but noooo. "He said that some other angel would catch on, if not for him." Antonio? Whoever the 'Big Wings' are? Angels didn't seem to like shutting their mouths. Matthew didn't hide his anguish. "I'm sorry, bro, but _maybe _a demon shouldn't really be here in the first place."

"Who says?!"

"He's a _demon, _man! If you knew this from the start, why did you keep him around instead of...I don't know, _exorcising _him?"

"What? How would you feel if I told you to tell Arthur to go pound salt?" Matthew exclaimed in obviously fake-adoration, "Oh, wait! You won't, because he's an _angel._ Beautiful, innocent, demon-punching angel."

Alfred snorted, "Beautiful and innocent? You're the one that's saying that." He shook his head, "Don't you think there's a good reason the angels work so hard to keep demons down in Hell, possibly where they belong?" He quickly raised his hands as Matthew's mouth angrily scrunched up, "I said possibly!"

Matthew eased, exclaiming, "Oh! You don't know?"

Alfred wasn't sure if that was sarcasm. "Uh...because they're known to terrorize people?" Hell, Ivan had a vendetta when he threw a sneaker at his head! Well, maybe it was a little rude, but the guy was trying to tear Arthur apart!

"As if there aren't enough people already doing that?" Matthew crossed his arms, making Alfred inwardly nervous, "The angels need humans, or at least they're in high demand." Alfred furrowed his eyebrows, and his brother lifted a finger, "I'll give you that some demons should be chased away and stay in Hell, but they put up a 'Keep Out' sign for every. Single. One of them. All because they're the only other natural competition they have."

Whoa, wait...what? Alfred had no idea where this nonsense came from to smack him in the face. He wound up grunting stupidly, "What? Huh?"

"Say...um, you have...a burger. Yeah! You have a burger sitting in front of you, and you really want that burger."

Matthew was taking about burgers now? Maybe the demon _really _did something to his brain. Alfred almost laughed, "Yeah, I'd want that burger, but what does-"

"Of course you would!" Matthew said really loudly, and Alfred clamped his mouth shut. Quieter, he continued, "but you can't have that burger if there's other people trying to have the burger, too."

Alfred was sitting outside and birds were picking at his food while it was still in his hands. "Well, I'd just shove it in my mouth!"

"It would be pretty hard to while everyone is trying to grab and eat it at the same time you are. You aren't going to get _all _the burger if that keeps happening."

Those metaphorical birds were now angels, clamoring over Alfred, and sticking their grabby hands everywhere. "So...you're calling us..._people_ _burgers_?"

"Yes." Matthew gave a soft smile, as if pleased at the prospect. Pleased, like he was talking sense. "We're the burgers to the angels, and everyone else trying to grab the burger are the demons. That's why the angels try to keep the demons away. So they can get all the burger."

It was Arthur wreathing and jerking away from all these demons, fiercely trying to shove them away from Alfred, who was the burger now. It wasn't a pretty thought. Alfred dug around his back pocket for his phone. "You know what? I think Artie was actually right the whole time. Something definitely got scrambled in your brain."

"Wait, no!" Matthew slapped a hand over Alfred's screen so he couldn't call Arthur to zap his brains. "Haven't you ever asked Arthur why he's hanging around all the time?"

"We're working together to help people, Mattie! What do you think we're doing?"

Matthew groaned and threw his head in his hands. "Al, please, just hear me out, okay? I know it's great to finally know and to have something more to life, and maybe Arthur's a really good guy to you, but the main reason they're like this is because they feed off of us!" He scrunched his face as he slowly took his hands away, "Not all zombie-like, I mean, they like...being around and bathe in our good vibes or something."

"Artie never said anything like that." Alfred blurted, "They like worrying about the souls growing and stuff!" Matthew steadily stared, probably having no idea what he was talking about. "Uh...where'd you hear that from anyway?"

Matthew huffed and puffed, darting his gaze to the ceiling. Alfred already knew before he said, "Ivan. Wait, wait, wait, before you start freaking out!" His voice grew fast, even though Al wasn't going to freak out. He had more chill than that. "The angels have that 'no-demon' policy because they don't want them to eat that burger while they're eating, but Ivan's not eating any burgers! I'm not going to be demon chow anytime soon. It's not like that!"

"_Pfft, _you said demon chow." Alfred had to get that out of the way. He straightened to be all serious, "Well, even if all that feeding stuff is true, and I guess Arthur and I have _even more _things to discuss, I don't want Ivan eating your burger!" Strange euphemism. "Or you! Or anybody! So...make sure he doesn't!"

Matthew groaned in annoyance again, but this time, it was a little bit funny. "He's not going to, Al! I already told you he's just visiting out of curiosity! And he's over a burner. Remember? That's why he went through all..._this _to disguise himself. It was the only way he could hang around without anybody trying to kill him."

Alfred put in, "Hey, that was self-defense on Artie's part. Your guy literally tried to sky-dive on him. He almost dove on _me_!"

"Uh, because Arthur had no business snatching me out of my own home?"

"He was doing his job?"

"Let's _not _get into this right now."

"Yeah, fine."

Matthew took a deep breath and wiped a hand over his mouth. "Al," he grew quiet. Quieter. "All I'm asking is if you could talk to Arthur about allowing Ivan to stay here. He'll stay covered up while he's on the surface, and he _definitely _won't be eating any humans."

"Aw, jeez, I hope not!" Alfred tried to get serious again, "Mattie, that's not up to me to decide. I mean, I'm going to try, and trust me, I've been trying all night, but Arthur's freaking about the other angels finding out and getting involved. Or what if Ivan slips up? You know, I don't want to see any horrible crap happening to any of us, but..."

Alfred trailed off, staring at his brother blinking rapidly and making a bunch of funky faces. "Please. Al." Now, Matthew was _super-duper _quiet. He cleared his throat and tried a little louder, not exactly looking at him in the eyes anymore, "There has to be _something._ He's...he's one of the only friends I manage to make and keep. I-I don't want to lose him over this."

"Are you...are you crying?"

"No! Almost. Does it matter?!"

"Whoa, I just..." Alfred squinted at Matthew's eminent meltdown. "Are you sure you're just friends? Friends are important, too, but you're fighting tooth and claw about this!"

Matthew quickly glanced over his shoulder to the empty hallway before hissing and swishing his hands, "Yes, we're just friends! I just care about him! A lot!"

Alfred clamped his hands over his head and his legs danced, "Dude! Dude, you totally got the feelings! _The _Feelings!"

Matthew looked around like something was going to come out and attack him. "Keep your voice down!" He shoved by his brother to get away from whatever he was freaking out about. "I said we're just friends!"

Alfred spun around, excitedly whispering, "Everything makes sense now! This is _so _much better than that possession crap Arthur was spewing out! Of course a bitter pigeon wouldn't get it!"

Matthew wasn't as excited, "It would only be worse if you told him that. Arthur wouldn't believe a demon has The Feelings, or if someone has _legit _feelings for a demon. If I really did!"

"Nope! No!" Alfred couldn't help but jig and groove with good ideas forming to their peaks in his head. "Maybe not a demon, but two people having Feelings for each other! It's simple science!" There was a flaw in his theory, "Darn it, if he only weren't a demon."

Ivan was still in the bedroom, recuperating from getting blasted by angelic light beams...

"Dude!"

Matthew jumped, "Dude, what?"

"Okay, okay, this is going to sound pretty stupid!"

"What else is new?"

"Come on!" Alfred flapped his hands, not really paying any mind. "What if Ivan wasn't a demon? I mean, what if we can make him into a..._not-_demon?"

"What, turn someone into something they aren't? I don't think you can do that."

"Ha! Ha, ha! These are angels were talking about, Mattie! Not scientists! We could like, maybe neutralize his demonic thingies! That light Artie does, what he was doing when our dudes were, you know, it can...how do I explain it? He said it temporarily weakened Ivan, and all his darkness got washed away!" Alfred reenacted with his hands throwing out, "Arthur was all like, '_Pew_!' and '_Pah_!' and _'Whoosh!_' and Ivan was like, '_Ahh_!' Maybe something with that could do something and could get Arthur off your back!"

Matthew almost smiled. "That's amazing, but would Arthur do it for a demon? For Ivan? Or...me?"

Alfred dropped his kung-fu moves. "I'm going to see what he says about it. I swear if he still is all gun-ho about this afterwards, we're going to have to like, tie him up and leave him somewhere to stew about it."

"Or throw a brick at him!"

"Yeah, you _could _do that, but let's try _talking _first."

Matthew giggled, cheeks going pink. "Yeah, sorry. You know, it would probably be easier to do the thing than to get them to do it."

"Ha, you probably got that right!"

Alfred grunted as his brother threw his arms around him. "Thank you so much, Al!"

"Aw, you're welcome, Mattie!" Alfred drummed his hands against Matthew's back. "You freaking sap! Where'd you run off to last night?"

Matthew let go with a big smile on his face. "Hell and back!"

"Hell?! You seriously-"

Matthew's bedroom door flung open and bounced off the wall as Ivan leaped into the hallway with a big growl. Because they bro-hugged? Alfred scoffed as Matthew warily approached him, "Are you seriously growling at me?"

Matthew glanced over his shoulder, and his equally bewildered look morphed into a nasty scowl. "No, not you." He held an arm from his side, in front of Ivan. "Behind you."

Alfred already knew from the tinglies against the back of his neck. A cold hand grasped his forearm and tugged away from his brother and the demon. "Oh, hey, Arthur!" He let out a short laugh, "We were just talking. You know, like I said I was going to."

"It took a while." Arthur grumbled, practically against his back. "Just...checking...in."

Matthew curled his nose as Ivan steadily glowered past Alfred, and a low growl drifted across the hall. "You made a point, Arthur. Just keep back for a little bit. Please?" The growling grew louder as the demon bared his teeth, until Mattie elbowed him in the stomach. "I need to discuss some things with Ivan before anybody does anything. Is that okay?"

Before Arthur could respond, Alfred gasped, "Yeah! I got some stuff we need to talk about, too!"

Arthur let out a dramatic groan, "Do we? Haven't you annoyed me enough tonight?"

Alfred turned around and put his hands on his waist, "Look who's talking, you nasty dove! Getting your feathers roughed up. You need to chill out and talk it out for once!"

"I tried that!"

"Once today!"

"Hmph! We're leaving!" Arthur grabbed Alfred's elbow, and a bright light swathed over their heads. The feeling of falling punched his stomach and he tried to flail his arms, to shield them over his face as cold air whipped around him. He couldn't move. At the very best, he pried open his eyes. Hundreds of green eyes flickered back and forth against tens of feathered wings wrapped tightly around his body.

Alfred couldn't even freak out if he wanted to. A second later, he fell again. Thankfully, a springy mattress caught him instead of stony concrete. A dark room. Quiet.

A glowing body fell onto his.

"Whoa! Arthur!"

The angel groaned, and tried to push himself away. "S-sorry...why...why did you look?"

"No! It's all right! Don't worry about it." Alfred latched onto Arthur's arms as he wobbled and clutched his head. "Sit down! You look like you need it!"

Arthur still tried to squirm away anyway. "I'm fine. If I sit down, I won't get back up again."

Alfred uncertainly let him stumble toward the dresser, quickly getting to his feet to follow. "How about an ice pack?"

"No, I need...I need to take a shower. A hot one, before we decide to do _anything._"

"You sure?" Alfred weaved side-to side, unsure what to do as Arthur propped himself against his dresser and pulled open the top drawer. "You need help with anything?"

"What, like washing myself?" One side of Arthur's mouth curled in a half-hearted smirk as he pushed away for the bathroom. "No, Alfred, I can do that just fine myself, but thank you for asking."

"That's not what-"

The door shut.

Alfred stuck his hands over his eyes and groaned. He sought the bed in comfort, but if he let himself to the confines of blankets, then he wouldn't be able to get up ever again, either. Minus well raid the fridge in the meantime. Into the kitchenette, snooping around the spiffy counters, Al opened the fridge, and...

"Oh, my God." It was emptier than Matthew's brain on a Monday morning. Milk, water, a small amount of cheese slices, some apples in the lower drawer. That's it. "You have nothing to eat?! What are you!"

There was no reply. Actually, there was no sound at all. Alfred rushed to the bathroom door. The light was on, but the water wasn't going. He pressed to the wood, straining his ears for any sound.

For a moment, Alfred wondered if Arthur was even in there anymore, gone back to the Bonnefoy house and-

Something light hit the floor.

It had to be clothes.

He shouldn't have thought so lowly of his friend.

A heavy sigh. It was too easy to imagine the way Arthur rolled his head back, putting a hand to his shoulder in weary concern as his eyes slid close after a long day.

He wanted to be in there.

He wanted to be with Arthur.

Alfred ripped away from the door, pacing around the kitchenette with his hands clamped onto his face. He circled the wacky-blue cabinets, trying to entertain his eyes on the nicks and scrapes on the cheap tiles.

Tea.

Hey, Arthur loved tea! Yeah, Alfred should definitely make some tea. What a great idea! Something to do! The snippy parrot would appreciate it after everything. All good conversations happen over tea. He peeked at the door, but quickly glanced away as the shower kicked to life.

They needed to talk.

Alfred's heart took some of the pots and pans in the cabinets and started to bash them around his poor head.

What if he _was _a person-burger? With Arthur 'feeding' on him the whole time?

Ew.

Then, why would Arthur have been so stubborn about getting close in the first place? Alfred nodded to himself. If burgers walked around, he would have tried to beckon one closer, let it get comfortable, before commencing chow-time. Not zap its buns and call it an idiot. He found himself grinning to the floors.

No, Mattie and Ivan came first. Matthew, who was not possessed by this supposed big, bad evil cretin of Hell, whose fist was as sharp as his wit against angels that messed with him. A cretin that wore heels and ate chocolate covered potatoes. A match made in Hell. Ha-ha.

If someone had to get the sappy ending, it should be those two dummies. Alfred vowed to give it to them.

When Arthur opened the bathroom door, Alfred had a big grin and a steaming cup of tea waiting for him.

"What's..."

"It's for you. Go and sit down. There's a lot to say."

Arthur couldn't (and wouldn't) fight a smile. Seeing it made everything worth it in the end.

Alfred joined him on the bed, doing all the talking as his friend contently nursed his cup close to the bags under his eyes.

"Mattie and I talked. I mean, what else would we be doing? Ha-ha. Um, so, yeah, he isn't possessed. Like, at all. By the looks of it, it's the other way around, and we came up with something I think that can solve all our problems..."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

* * *

"Mattie!"

"Yeah, hi, it's me."

Alfred kicked his leg for idle movement as he laid on Arthur's bed with his phone to his ear, "I talked to Artie, about the stuff!"

Arthur didn't even react, totally knocked out with an arm dangling off of the bed for the figurative demon prowling underneath to grab. Matthew urged from the other line, "Okay. Tell me the stuff."

"So, I told him you wanted Ivan to stay, and wanted to be his buddy, pal, whatever, and he got pretty ticked again."

"Again," Matthew said.

Alfred ignored him and glanced behind himself to see if he disturbed his bedmate. Nope. "Yeah, yeah, but he chilled out once I mentioned that light thingy. He actually seemed cool with it. For once," he grumbled as he absentmindedly traced a fingertip up the sleeve of Arthur's fuzzy robe. "Well, he didn't hit me on the head, so I think he's cool with it..."

Alfred jerked and rolled to the other side of the bed to sit up. "Anyway, he told me that the angels could just send him back to Hell without a second thought, but..." An excited wiggle, "I think your magic words got to Artie, and he decided to give him a choice."

Matthew asked, "What would that be? Under his terms?"

"Of course! Dude, even if the guy has thoughts, feelings, and blah, blah, blah, like us, there's still centuries, no, millennia of distrust and fighting between angels and demons! It's for the safety of all of us!"

All their 'food' sources. Alfred decided to play it cool and pretend that possibility doesn't exist as he spilled the Big Plans to a sleepy Artie. Matthew scoffed, "That's implying that Ivan is going to eat everyone's babies and rain fireballs on Earth!"

Alfred got up from the bed and wondered into the kitchenette to check if anything changed in the fridge out of habit. With a glance to the grumpy lump on the bed, he lowered his voice as he fled into the bathroom, "I know, Mattie, but if we're going to change things for the better, this is how it has to start. Real slow. But we can do it."

"Al?"

"Oh, right!" Alfred returned to his usual volume, "If he wasn't even planning to raise Hell - get it? Raise Hell! Ha-ha!"

Matthew groaned from the other end.

If he were in front of Alfred, Matthew probably would have held up his middle finger instead. "There's still that distrust between them. Not only is it the whole 'angel versus demon' thing, but part of it's personal. Apparently, there was a demon sighting about a decade ago - guess who it was - and he scared a bunch of people, and I guess you're not supposed to do that, because what happens if people find out about actual demons and angels?" He threw his hand up, almost knocking it into the doorframe, "All the crazies will come out and try to start the Armageddon!

Matthew kindly interrogated Ivan about the time Arthur and him firstly faced off. Mischief managed, but even angels and demons forget faces after a while. Mattie asked, "What's going to happen?"

"Artie's going to find other angels nearby. No matter what Ivan choses to do, there's going to be a meet-up spot, and they expect him to be there, or else they're going to look for him. I don't think either of you would want that." Alfred started to wander around the place. "This doesn't have to end with anyone getting hurt."

"Great!" Matthew remarked, "What's the catch?"

"They...they can neutralize his, um, demon-ness like we talked about. Isn't that great? But it's the only way the angels are going to allow Ivan to walk around on the surface. They're going to smother his demon stuff. Whenever he goes to Hell or whatever, just not up here, he can be whatever he damn well choses." Arthur's words. "I'll text you the details, so you don't lose them!"

Matthew snickered, "Like you would? Thanks, Al. Really."

"Hey!" Alfred grinned, "You're my bro, okay?"

"Of course!"

"So, your guy is all right with this? I don't think it's going to be a tickle fest for him."

Matthew said, "We're both well aware."

Alfred whistled in relief, "If you say so..." He perked up, remembering, "Hey, you're still going to talk to him about The Feelings, right, Mattie-"

"Yep, sure. Goodbye, Al." Matthew hung up.

"Aw, man." Alfred shrugged and fled back to bed, eagerly wiggling under the covers to nonchalantly cozy up to the angel. Still sleeping. Kind of boring. He tossed to his other side, sticking his phone in his face to tack the when's and where's of the game plan to his brother.

Without waiting for a response, Alfred put his phone on the nightstand before, of course, staring at the big wing-lumps beneath the sheets for a long moment before scooting closer until their arms were almost touching.

"You know that?" He murmured aloud, to nobody in particular. "I know it sounds cheesy, but I'm glad with the way things turned out." That they lie next to one another. That Artie showed mercy on Matthew and company...even if he did so begrudgingly. That he stuck his neck out, risking his wings for them.

Alfred rested a hand on Arthur's arm, before turning over to get some sleep for those Big Plans.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"The banquet hall is hosting a breakfast line-up all morning, if you want something to eat. Oh, what am I saying?" Arthur's voice went around the bed, but Alfred didn't open his eyes. Not yet. "You always want something to eat."

Alfred peeled his face from his pillow and threw the blankets back with an excited screech, "Holy, shit! Yes! Food!"

Arthur steadily gawked with mild concern. "Right, yes. It would be nice of you to get us both something, if you can. I'll start some tea in the meantime."

"I can do that!"

Almost afraid, "No, that's quite all right. Go get us something to eat."

"Aw." Alfred kicked at the bed before springing to his feet with another jubilant, "Food!" He was out the door with his shoes within seconds.

Some of the attendees gave him weird looks, like a guy can't be excited over complementary breakfast. He didn't eat at _all _last night, with all that demon-business. It dawned on him that he came out of Arthur's motel room with the same jeans and tee-shirt he had on last night, and he just pulled himself out of bed without at least running a hand through his hair.

Alfred grinned and grabbed two plates. A conga line of old people shuffled down the table of steaming cauldrons, and he couldn't help himself but to sneak whatever he put on his plate into his mouth as they took their sweet time. One of the servers glared.

"Take only one plate! One plate for each person! There is a lot of people that would like to eat!"

"Yeah! This one is for my friend!"

"I don't see any-"

Someone put a hand on the old woman's shoulder. That someone being the Bingo Host lady, smiling one of those 'I'm smiling, but back away' kind of smiles. If that made sense. "There is plenty to go around for people who are not here yet."

Alfred's cheeks warmed as the older woman harrumphed and turned away. "Thanks, Miss."

"Oh, you're very welcome, dear." The Bingo Lady plopped some kind of hard cookie on top of his food mountains. "Here, I know Arthur really likes these. Have a good day, you two."

Alfred scurried away for the front doors to get away from her smiling, which was now more of a suspicious sort. But hey, he got extra cookies! When he reached Arthur's door, he glanced between his plates and the door knob. "Shit! Uh..."

He had to try to pinch the door knob between his elbows and awkwardly jostle it until the door opened. A big sigh of relief. The goods were intact.

Alfred rushed to deposit the food mountains on the dining table and ran to shut the door. He turned around, eager eyes on breakfast, and worked to chow some of it down until there was an unnatural whistling from the stove. It must have been the tea kettle. Al had to pull himself from his beautiful feast to go around the counter and stop that awful noise. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you, man?"

The bathroom door was open, so Alfred popped his head in, "Hey, I got us food! Oh, jeez!"

"Alfred!" Arthur squawked, and bent his wings to cover the front of his nude body.

"Hey! What'cha doing?"

"What am I...uh, getting dressed?!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes!" Arthur turned a deep pink as he slammed the door shut, almost smashing Alfred's nose in the process.

"Right, yeah..." Alfred said weakly and stiffly turned around for the stove. Dang it, dang it, dang it. He wouldn't be getting _that _image from his head anytime soon. How the Hell was he supposed to know better, when the door was freaking wide open? "Pervert, it's like you wanted me to peek at you."

Alfred stopped grumbling to himself as soon as the bathroom door opened, and Arthur came out to circle around the food pyramids. He tucked his shirt collar into place, muttering, "Oh, food. Lots of it." He had clothes on now, but once somebody sees someone else naked, it's never the same.

"Hey," Alfred tried as Arthur eagerly crammed a cookie into his mouth, "Chow time."

Arthur spared a split-second glance before turning away to toss his towel in the clothes bin. "I can see that."

Alfred ducked his head to focus on dumping hot water into mugs. A delicate process.

Arthur's scathing voice sounded from behind him, "Didn't I say I was going to take care of the tea?"

"You were doing other things!"

"In the meantime!"

"What's wrong with the way I made it?" Arthur seemed to like the cup Alfred gave him last night...

"You didn't let the water get to the right temperature, first of all. And you didn't steep the leaves long enough. And you put in way too much sugar. And-"

"Okay! So, it sucked! Jeez!" Alfred purposely dumped a bunch of sugar in the tea cups when Arthur wasn't looking. So, tea had a 'right temperature.' Yeah, okay. Again, "Jeez." His eyes glued themselves to Arthur's white button down and dark slacks as he brushed by, or really what was under it all. "Guess you're back to being grumpy again, right?"

"_Hmph, _yes." Arthur dug around the empty fridge for a moment too long for some milk before looking between the identical cups. "Which one's mine?"

"Doesn't matter."

"All right, which one doesn't have a ridiculous amount of sugar in it?"

"Like I said, doesn't matter."

Arthur dumped a bit of milk in a cup before grabbing it. Alfred latched onto his forearm, earning a look of indignant surprise. "What?"

"Arthur."

A light sigh. "Thank you, Alfred. For the tea."

"That's not...how are you feeling?"

"Fine." Arthur turned tail and marched back to the table to finally get something to eat.

Yeah, figures.

Alfred stared down his feet for a solid moment, before giving himself a shake and following. He watched the bitter dove let his eyes close as he brought his cup to his face, and couldn't help a grin as Arthur obviously struggled to not pucker up when he slowly set his sweet tea down.

Training his gaze on the ungodly amount of food before him, Arthur pointedly cleared his throat, and asked, "And you? How was your night?"

Alfred grew weak. He swiped his hand over his mouth to keep his face from going funny as he settled across from Arthur. "Oh, it was...nice. Yeah. Wasn't too cold." Especially when he felt so warm. "Hopefully Spring gets here soon."

"Ah, I see." Arthur was totally avoiding eyes.

"Uh...the lady at the bingo hall said you like those cookies."

"These biscuits? Yes, they're fine."

Alfred lightly sighed and covered it up with more bacon. "What do you got planned for today?"

"Don't you have to go to school?"

"Hey, let's not talk about that!"

A little confused, "Ah, all right..."

Breakfast fell quiet.

Alfred almost started twiddling his thumbs. "So...uh, you look...human."

"Thanks," Arthur said dryly. "Just trying to look unnoticeable."

Well, Alfred noticed. "I thought you were going to look for angels."

"I am, but they're not going to be flapping about, either."

"Makes sense, I guess. How long is that going to take?"

"Several hours, probably. Antonio has some contacts, too, so I'll go to him first. Some of them might not like being on such a short notice, but tough. There's a demon about and I've held my wings out long enough."

"Oh. So..."

"So what?"

"Where are we going first?"

"Who said you're going to come along?"

"I did! Come on," Alfred cracked a grin, "let's face it. Who's better talking to people?"

"They're angels. I don't need much persuasion besides the fact that there's a demon around and about."

"Aw, come on, you got to butter them up more than _that_!"

Arthur smirked like he knew something Al didn't, and kicked him beneath the table when he slung one leg over the other. "No, I don't think I do. Strictly business, young man."

"_Pfft, _I can do business." Alfred cleared his throat and dropped his voice, "Good day to you sir! How would you like to catch a demon today?"

"I rather be in bed at the moment, actually, but thank you for asking."

"Ha-ha! Seriously, though! Let me tag along! I promise I won't get in the way!"

"Ugh, whatever. It's not like you would stop asking anyway. Only to Antonio's. We'll go there first, but I'm not lugging your fat arse all over the place after that."

Alfred pulled his shirt down a bit further. "Oh, you wouldn't? Where are you going after Antonio's?"

"Places."

"Cool." It felt funny to pop a piece of syrup drowned bacon in his mouth. He blurted, "Come on, my ass isn't that fat."

"What does that..." Arthur took a quick breath, but didn't say what he was going to. He scoffed instead, "If you suddenly sprouted wings and had to fly around everywhere, then _maybe _you would have to look into shedding a limb or two in order to get yourself off the ground. Until then..."

"But Ivan's got wings. He can fly."

"That creature?! You call that flying? It roams around like a drunk bat!" Arthur shoved himself from the table, leaving enough for leftovers behind. He stopped to rest a hand on Alfred's shoulder, shooting him with a zing of Good Feelings. "Why are you worrying about that now? Your arse is fine. Sheesh!"

With that, Arthur stalked around the counter to grab a plastic bowl. Ooh, man, Artie called his butt _fine!_ Alfred wiggled on his chair, grinning to himself. "Do you get more stuff from somebody if they're...if there's more to them? If they're fat?"

"What do you mean_ stuff_?"

"You know, when you suck up good vibes off of us!"

Arthur blanched, "What in the world are you talking about?!"

Alfred's face grew hot as his buddy rushed around the counter to snatch the plates away. "Well, Mattie said we're like burgers to you guys, and you like to eat us, but you don't really eat us like burgers, or something."

"Maybe _Mattie_ should keep quiet about angels when he doesn't know what he is talking about. _Especially _if he is cavorting with a demon. Ugh!"

"But...is it true?" Alfred draped his arms over the back of the counter to watch Arthur store the rest of breakfast in the fridge. "I know you guys look after some people, but do you like, thrive off of that? If you don't do that, would you die?"

Arthur kept his back toward him as he ran his hands over his slacks. "I don't think that's something you need to be worrying about."

"Seriously. Would you die if we weren't here?"

"You weren't always here, Alfred!" Arthur spun around, angry, but that look quickly went somewhere else. "If you're so worried that I am going to _eat _you or something, why are you still here? Idiot."

"What? Hey, you're the idiot!"

"And what makes me an idiot, Alfred?"

"You...because...uh..." Yikes, Arthur put his hands on the other side of the counter and bent forward to peek beneath the upper cabinets with a stupid villain-smirk creeping up his face. "Your eyebrows are lopsided and you didn't even notice."

Arthur automatically slapped a hand over his forehead and rushed into the bathroom. "No, they're not!"

Alfred busted into laughter, prompting him to pop out and shoot deadly glares from across the room. "That's what makes you an idiot!"

"Be quiet or I'll make your _head _lopsided." Arthur hurried to grab his old man coat and winced as he shoved it over his shoulders. "I'm leaving now, _idiot. _I have things to do."

"Hey, wait up, idiot! I'm coming with you!"


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

* * *

"Oh, great," Lovino announced in his best customer-service voice, "it's you again. What the fuck do you want?"

Alfred grinned while Arthur went white from shock. "Heya, is-"

Someone snapped from the storage room, not far from the check-out counter, "Lovino, I already told you, that's_ not _how to make our patrons feel welcome!" Antonio came out with an unusual scowl. "I'm so sorry about that...oh!" His face immediately brightened, a bit too much actually. "Eyebrows! What are you doing here?"

Arthur clamped a hand over his forehead. "Antonio, we talked about this..."

Alfred said, "We're actually looking for...a book. Uh...I forget the title, but it was definitely in your religious section! Think you could help?"

Antonio tipped his head as Lovino shot Alfred a dirty look. "Oh, yes, I could definitely help you. Come, I'll show you! Lovino, look out for other customers! And be nice! Please and thank you!" He hurried to the other side of the store, not waiting for a scathing response.

Arthur and Alfred exchanged a bemused look before following the other glowing man. Antonio suddenly stopped at the very end of the aisles and spun around, whispering excitedly, "What happened? Did you take care of the..."

"Ivan?" Alfred guessed.

"If that's what it's called."

"We're all going to do this zap-zap thing with him, so he's not going to be a demon anymore! Isn't that great?!"

Antonio just looked confused. Arthur clocked his hip against Alfred's, almost butting him into the nearest bookshelf before turning to pretend to skim over some titles. "Speak a little louder, please. As I told you, Antonio, I've temporarily neutralized the demon, but it's still around. After that fight, I am not feeling keen enough to do it again, especially by myself this time. I'm going to need more manpower for a total neutralization."

"Neutralization? Don't you mean exorcising it?"

"Of the sorts. Are you up for it?"

"Yes!" Antonio replied almost right away. His green eyes flickered around the shop, making Alfred look over his shoulder to see nothing. "Whenever a demon _dares _to step into _my _town, near my good people I will-"

"Great," Arthur said much less enthusiastically, now with his phone in his face. "We're meeting in the woods, south of here around...let's say two o' clock. That will give me enough time to get word around. There, I sent the information to you, so you don't forget."

"I won't!" Antonio seemed too happy about this. "I can get a hold of Elizabeta if you want me to!"

"I'm going that way, but if you must, I'm not going to stop you."

Alfred glanced between the two disguised angels. "So, how many people are we going to need to get Ivan all-"

Arthur clamped a hand around his and gave it a firm squeeze. "I guess you don't have the book we're looking for. That's all right. Thank you, anyway."

"Uh, _si! _Later!"

Alfred remained silent as they pushed by Lovino digging his eyes into their backs in dire curiosity, until they were on the sidewalk. "Hey, I was trying to ask Antonio something!"

"I rather not spill all the details about this mess until everyone is there."

"Wait...Antonio does know we're squishing Ivan's demon-ness, right? We're not killing him. Right, Arthur?"

Arthur sighed, pulling Alfred through a small crowd dispersing from the shops and bingo hall. "If I told Antonio that, I have a nagging suspicion that he won't bother to come to the meeting. That, or he would get the wrong notion of what I'm trying to do, which is _not _getting your friend killed."

Alfred reeled, "Whoa! Ivan's not my friend!"

"Whatever."

"Oh." The gloved hand around Alfred's squeezed again as an elderly couple passed by, calling typical 'hello's,' and 'good morning.' Arthur didn't say hi back, so Al had to, but they were. Freaking. Holding. Hands! "So, uh, how are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Ha, should've seen that coming."

Arthur grumbled something as they reached the suburbs.

Alfred slowed so they had a little more time. "It was a crazy night last night..."

Arthur grunted.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Fine. I guess."

"What's wrong?"

"What, nothing's wrong. Just a tad sore."

"Oh, just a tad?" Alfred peeked at his friend's face from the corner of his eye, but Arthur just looked pissy and tired, as usual. He pressed a little closer, a little further, "You got a lot on your mind?"

"Yes."

"Like what?"

Of course Arthur was terse, "Angel things. Demon things. The neutralization. As I said, lots of stuff."

Alfred bumped their shoulders together, delighted as Arthur stumbled to the side. "That light thing you were doing last night...man, it was awesome! I mean, at the moment when Ivan was screaming and stuff, that wasn't as cool, but looking back on it...!"

"What, looking my best as I try to bring down a beast?" Arthur scoffed, but the furrow between his brows eased away. "It did have a great deal of work cut out for it when it asked for trouble."

"Who, Ivan?"

"Yes. _It._"

"Him."

"Whatever."

"Uh, yeah..." Alfred mumbled, "I just hope you don't go all nuts on the guy again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, you know...like...how you went all..."

Great, now Arthur was pissy again. "All what, Alfred?"

"Uh, you kind of..." Against better judgment, Alfred made a looping motion around his head with his free hand. "You really got into the vengeance thing. Like, in a bad way!"

"And?! He stole your brother away-"

"Come on, we know it's not like that now! You almost clapped Ivan right in front of Mattie and me, man!"

"Ugh!" Arthur ripped his hand away to cross his arms. "I was doing what we have always been told to do!"

"I know, you say that all the time! I'm just saying I'm glad you didn't, 'cause honestly, I think I'd have nightmares if you did. Woo, and poor Mattie!"

"Oh, please."

"Hey," Alfred reached for Arthur's hand again, "that's not nice."

Arthur shrunk into his coat. "I don't have to be nice."

"Yeah, I can tell!" Alfred wedged a hand in the crook of Arthur's arm and towed him down the road.

"The demon wasn't nice. Aren't you going to say anything about that? Did you see the way it just...came out of the sky? Did you see the way it threw itself at me? Did you see those claws?!"

Alfred humored him, "Sure thing!"

"God, it was absolutely _enormous!_ Ugh! I didn't feel like getting my limbs ripped off so I did what I had to do. Blasting it full of light should have knocked some sense into it..."

"Uh-huh?"

"Yes!" Arthur's tone dropped to grumbling, "'Don't go all nuts.' _Hmph_! Think you can tell _me_ what to do? You're lucky I'm so merciful."

Alfred looked over, grinning from Arthur hunched into his coat, with only his reddened nose and cheeks peeking between the zipper and his blond mop. "Mm, uh-huh, yeah?"

Arthur kept muttering, but honestly, Alfred stopped _really _listening like, five seconds ago. He almost bumped into someone's mailbox because he was watching green eyes dart back and forth. Artie picked up his head and loudly squawked, "What?!"

Alfred blinked, stunned. "What?"

"I don't know," Arthur tucked his chin back into his collar. "You're staring. There better not be anything on my face."

"Actually, yeah." Alfred reached over and pinched Arthur's nose.

"Ugh! Alfred!"

"Ha-ha, got you!"

"Argh!" Arthur swatted his hand away. "I'm going to throttle you!"

"See, there you go again, going nuts again."

Arthur growled, knocking on Alfred's back a few times. "I'll show you nuts!"

Alfred whistled, coming up to the edge of the sidewalk as a neighbor's car came along. "That's great, dude, but you should totally buy me dinner first." As soon as the car trudged by, he bounded across the road, leaving Arthur in the dust.

"You little-"

"Bye, Arthur!" Alfred shouted much louder than necessary without looking back. "Have fun, see you soon!"

Totally boss exit. As Alfred pretended to fiddle with the front door, he peeked at Arthur still stewing across the road, until he obnoxiously stomped away, shoulders bunched up and hands stuffed into his pockets. Swoon.

As soon as he was inside the house, Alfred kicked off his shoes and scrambled up the stairs on all fours like some kind of animal. It was quiet, and his brother _had _to be sleeping; it was still a bit early. Still, he wandered down the upstairs hall and whispered excitedly into Matthew's door, "Mattie! Mattieeeee!" He pouted, and then cracked the door enough to pop his head into the room with a louder, "_Psst! _Oh!"

There was a demon on Matthew's bed, snoozing away on his belly with no sign of Matthew. Wait, no, that had to be Mattie's arm sticking out, squished beneath him, and hopefully he was still sleeping and not dead. The most important thing was that they solved the blanket-war issue by using the other person as a blanket, then throwing the actual blanket right on top of whoever had large wings protruding from their body.

"Huh," Alfred pondered aloud, heart fluttering when he thought of doing that next time with Arthur. Then, he kind of got ticked because his heart actually fluttered, and it felt stupid. "That's weird..." He backed away and slowly closed the door, not taking a chance to wake the beast, and he wasn't thinking of Ivan this time.

Not really knowing what to do, Alfred went downstairs, flopped on the living room couch, but didn't turn on the gaming console. Playing seemed so...nuance right now, and he couldn't keep still. Annoyed to get up as soon as he sat down, he meandered to the back door, promising himself to go to the kitchen next to cheer himself up. The back yard was bright and white with the last snow fall, still untouched on the buried grass.

Alfred reminded himself that snow was cold and yucky and went to the kitchen to stuff his face with whatever stood in his way. The house was too quiet, and he wanted to wake Mattie up so he could bother him, but there was no way he was going near that bed. It was an uneventful snack-fest of scrambled eggs, leftover candies from the convenience store, and some slices of meat from the fridge. He even washed the dishes just for something to do.

Alfred found himself at the back door again, making faces at the snow. Cold and yucky and wet. Sparkly. Soft-looking.

He gave in, rummaging through the downstairs closet for five layers of clothes before trudging outside. "Oh! Ew! Ugh!" He cursed the wind biting the side of his face when he wasn't even entirely out the door yet, and jumped into the snow, which wound up not being even a few inches deep.

Life was full of disappointments.

Alfred took those disappointments and threw them and himself on the ground, wiggling and waving his arms and legs. "Ha!" He shot away to behold his artwork, "Now _that's _a snow angel!"

His shoulders slouched when the mess on the ground did not respond.

Sometimes the silence was too much to handle.

Much more dejected, Alfred slowly lowered himself to the ground again, waving the snow around so the sound of his coat swishing back and forth would fill his ears. Sooner than later, his arms got tired, and that was too boring, and it was too cold, and everything was numb, and...

Alfred dug around his coat pocket to squint at his phone. None of his friends messaged or called at all, and it was an extra long weekend! After flicking through some old conversations, he realized some his buddies _did _text him, but he just left them on read. It probably had to do with chasing demons in the meantime...

Wow, Alfred really needed to come up with a sane answer to the obligatory 'How was your weekend and what did you do?' or else he was going to be getting those 'What the Hell is wrong with you?' looks. He knew the ones. The girls especially loved making those. Scrunching their faces, glancing amongst themselves to make sure they saw it, too, and then fake laughing for a second before the conversation died. A savior would rise, putting something much more interesting and not-awkward on the table.

Alfred liked being that savior. The guys would whoop and pat him on the back while the girls would titter and play with the stray clumps of his hair. That seemed so bland now. They were going day-to-day because that's all they knew what to do, to make others satisfied, and never stray to the unknown...

A warm puff of air shot from Alfred's chapped lips. "Whoa." He made his own head hurt. He was impressed.

"Seriously?" A low but scathing voice that could only be a freshly-awakened Matthew called out. Alfred craned his head up, grinning at his brother scowling from a crack in the rear door.

"What?"

"What are you doing?!"

"Chilling! Ha-ha! Get it!"

"Oh, my God." Matthew couldn't take it anymore and fled back inside.

Alfred shrugged and decided his army needed more snow angels as he waited for the real ones to arrive.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

* * *

"What is he doing."

"He's a burrito."

"A _what_?!"

"A burrito," Matthew repeated. "He's cold."

"Oh, Lord. Alfred!" A hand smacked Alfred's cheek, and he thrashed against the living room couch, but was trapped in the blankets wrapped around himself. He blearily blinked and smacked his lips, grumbling at the two blurry figures before his eyes.

"Let a guy be a burrito in peace."

Matthew said, "That's what I've been saying."

Arthur's tone clawed the air, "I guess you're staying here while the neutralization-"

Alfred threw the blankets from himself and scrambled off the back of the couch to tackle Arthur. "I'm good! It's all good, man!" He pulled away, gawking down at the white, uh, dress-thing he was wearing. "What's _that_?! Jeez! You're making me cold just looking at you!"

Looking at those legs-

"You're cold because you were lying in the snow, idiot."

"Oh, Mattie told you about that?" Alfred gave his brother a betrayed glare. Matthew just shrugged.

Arthur sighed, sounding more tired than angry. "You can't be left to your own devices at all, can you? Here," he reached for the end table, "your glasses." It didn't feel so cold anymore as a small smile made it to his face. "You better get your coat back on, too. We need to be at the field shortly."

Matthew pointedly cleared his throat, "Um...yeah, I need to get ready, too. And see how Ivan's holding up, so..."

Arthur didn't even spare a glance in his direction as he quickly fled the room.

Alfred asked, "You got all the other angels? Already?"

"They're on their way now." Arthur snapped as Alfred just stood there, "Hurry up!"

"Whoa, okay!" Alfred dove into the coat closet and grabbed something dry to wear. "What about you? You're not going to be wearing a _dress _in the middle of winter, are you?"

"No, I'm not! This is a toga, idiot. It's very light and easy to fly in. Thank you."

"Ha-ha, okay, sure..." Still looked like a dress to Alfred. Short, legs sticking out, dress. "Should we wait for Mattie-"

"They can catch up," Arthur said, and held a hand out. "You coming?"

Alfred zipped his coat up all the way before looping their arms together. "Let's fly, dude!"

There was a snap of light, and that jarring sensation hit Alfred's stomach as cold air _whoosh_ed by his ears. Silence, for a moment. He started to tip backwards.

Arthur shoved behind him, jamming his bony shoulder into his back. "Careful!"

"Ow! I'm okay!" Alfred quickly rooted his feet in the snow-clad grass and gave a thumbs-up despite the sensation of his brains frying to scrambled eggs. "See? All good, dude."

"Uh-huh, right." Cool fingers brushed down his arm and grabbed his hand, and everything went right in the world. Or at least in his head, for now. For now.

Arthur lurched forward, snapping Alfred out of his gaze toward the many gray-brown trees scratching at the pale sky. "Huh? Where we going?"

"Oh, just around and about."

Sight-seeing, perhaps? There were lots of memories made between these trees. Alfred smiled and tangled their fingers together. Lots of memories more. Hopefully.

"You wanted to be alone?"

"What? No, you're fine. Well, if the other angels have something to say about it, I'll be knocking heads."

"Oh, I-I mean from Mattie and Ivan!" Knocking angel heads together didn't seem really diplomatic, but hey, maybe they did things differently.

"Oh," Arthur echoed. It went quiet, save for the crunching and munching of snow beneath their feet. He took a deep breath, and let out a big cloud of air from his nose. "All that flying around, yapping about the demon over and over again...it got old after the third time." He did one of those quiet laughs, "All that, and we _still _have that creature to deal with."

"Uh-huh?"

"A part of me hopes it just screws off and goes back to Hell, but I can tell that's not happening, now is it?"

"Don't sound so sad about it! Mattie's freaking ecstatic. He totally digs the dude! Weird, huh?"

"Yes, I've noticed that." A tightness found Arthur's voice, "Very weird." He slowed, and lifted his free arm to point, "Would you look at that?"

Alfred looked at a bunch of trees.

"These trees here are in an almost-perfect circle." Arthur cleared his throat, banishing his sharp undertones, "Isn't that nice, how they grew like that?"

Alfred couldn't help but feel like the angel was showing off, like, 'Look at what my Dad made!' He amped up his awe, "Wow! That's awesome, dude!"

"Yes, I thought so, too." Totally showing off. Arthur started to pull in a certain direction. "This is where I'm expecting the others. They may be a while, so we should find somewhere to sit in the meantime."

"In the snow?" Alfred kind of did that enough already that morning.

"Ah, and this, too!" Arthur towed him to a dead log that leaned against his neighbor. "That stone under it, the way this tree splits, so when this one fell...it's perfect."

"Uh, do you like walking in the woods and finding stuff like this?"

"You don't?"

Honestly, that stumped Alfred. Arthur lifted their hands as he hopped over a branch sticking out from the ground and hoisted himself onto the fallen tree. Al let himself be pulled closer, breath catching as the angel pressed against his shoulder. He wasn't warm, but as he lain a wing across his back, it didn't feel like winter anymore.

Arthur kept staring, not looking away even when Alfred pointedly glanced back and forth from the corner of his eye. He wondered if there was a big zit coming out of his face. Or maybe a booger was peeking from his nose. Maybe both. Ugh.

"What are you thinking about, Alfred?"

The gentle murmur sent goose bumps up Alfred's arms. "Uh, it's cold!"

Arthur dared to laugh almost villainously, "Well, who knew that taking a nap in the snow would do that to you?"

"You're freaking cold," Alfred grumbled, "in more ways than one."

"Did you want to go home already?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

Alfred lied, "Yeah, I'm totally sure!"

From the corner of his eye, Arthur grinned. "All right, then." Stared. Tipped his head. "What are you _really _thinking about?"

"What? Dude, come on."

Arthur mocked, "Come on."

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut and craned his head back with a big groan, "You! I'm thinking about you, okay?! Fuck, man! What else is there to think about?"

"Ah." Not even fazed. "I figured that."

"Then _why _ask?!"

"I was wondering what you were going to say."

"Seriously?!" Alfred clamped his mouth shut when his voice jumped three octaves and cracked. The tables turned and flipped over and broke into pieces, just like his brain. "What are you thinking about, then? Huh?!"

See, it was no longer fun and games as Arthur's expression fell to a steely scowl. "I'm thinking what sort of creature your brother is to even _want _to, let alone be capable of bringing a demon to his knees. That is, if what you're saying about a demon feeling anything except something for itself is true."

"It _is _true." Alfred nonchalantly swiped a hand over a hot cheek. "You don't think demons have Feelings?"

"No, they can. Just the wrong ones."

"Who says they're the wrong ones?"

"What? The desire to bring Hell on Earth? I think anyone should consider that _wrong,_ yeah?"

"Not _all _demons..." Great, he sounded like Matthew now. "What are _you _really thinking about?"

Arthur scoffed and turned his face away. "I already told you."

"Besides Hellfire and destruction."

"Ah, there's not much else, then." Waitaminute. Did Arthur just crack a joke? Dang, he was getting good. His eyes flickered to Alfred, and that stony look on his face crumbled into a sly smile. "I've looked to and lived in the skies for a while now, Alfred."

Alfred looked up. The sky was nearly cloudless. "Yeah?"

"I've always thought that they were the most beautiful, most blue thing anyone could ever get to experience." Alfred jumped as a cool fingertip grazed his cheek. "Until my eyes met yours. Isn't that strange, how they're like that?" A moment of silence. "Alfred?"

Alfred stopped breathing two seconds ago.

Arthur leaned forward. "Err..."

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut, fighting to breathe against the tightness squeezing his chest. "That's freaking cheesy," he managed to mumble, "but thanks."

Real cool.

Pressing a little closer, "Are you...are you blushing?"

"No!"

Smarmy, in his face, "Hmph, you obviously are."

Alfred shouldered Arthur away, making him clutch onto their make-shift bench. "Why do you ask me stuff when you already know everything?!"

"Well, at least you finally admit it! I _am _always right." With another damned chuckle, Arthur brushed himself off and hopped into the snow. "In the meantime, I'll go take a flight around, in case someone got lost on the way."

"Yeah." Alfred's eyes trailed after his legs, quickly darting away as Arthur looked over his shoulder and winked. He fucking winked. As soon as he looped around a tree, he was gone. Alfred put a hand over his face again.

If the ground was going to swallow him up, now would be the perfect time.

Alfred shoved from the tree truck and tried to turn the directions his head spun into a right one; dutifully marching around the trees to spy for any newcomers, airborne or not. They were in this together, after all. _Together-_together maybe-

Nope. No way. Noooooo.

Nobody there. Nobody around this tree either.

Alfred didn't know who he was kidding. He didn't want a piece of that angel. He wanted the whole dang pie. He kicked some snow at a random tree, just to teach it a lesson.

Thin? Bony butt? Bad attitude and bad eyebrows to go with it? Alfred tried to reason with himself.

God, he wanted to touch those eyebrows.

God, that sounded weird just thinking it.

It just wasn't fair, man! With every wink, with every nudge, Arthur gave him funky looks and yelled like some kind of small, angry goblin. And yet, _yet _he spreads his feathers, shows a little leg, and whatever is piloting Alfred's brain ejects itself into space.

Turns out, Alfred may be, _just maybe, _a teeny, tiny, little bit gayer than he originally thought.

Faint voices caught his attention, and he stopped abusing the snow to investigate. He hoped that it was another angel, but it was actually his brother and his demon buddy. Even better. Although, Alfred hoped they didn't walk by the neighbor's houses like _that_.

Glad to finally put his thoughts onto something else besides spiraling out of control, Alfred shook an arm, "Hey, dudes!"

They looked up in surprise.

"Fuck, it's cold! Nice to see you're all right."

Matthew smiled, but before he said anything, Ivan snipped, "Why would he not be?"

The demon's eyes did nothing to make Alfred comfortable. "Ew, could you like, back up five feet?"

Seriously, what was up with demons and personal space? Matthew rolled his eyes. "It'd be a lot warmer if we all huddled together."

Alfred curled his nose. Mattie was right. He made sure to saddle up to his side, away from Ivan. "Are you ready for this?"

"I am. And so is Ivan, which is sort of important, in case you forgot."

"What?" Ivan asked.

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it."

"I find it hard not worry to at this moment." The big lug came closer, holding his hands out, and please no-

"Agh!" Alfred yelled, squishing against Matthew as if he would help him from the demon wrapping his arms around the both of them. Of course, Matthew didn't do anything to stop it; he liked it.

"Ah, very nice and warm, yes?" Seriously, Ivan really did not have to pat Alfred's shoulder like that. "You spend so much time chasing after the angel, you'll freeze."

"What? That doesn't make any sense."

But dang it, he was really warm.

Matthew smiled at Alfred and butted his head against Ivan's chest, like this whole thing was acceptable. "Where is he anyway? You know anything?"

Alfred stuck his tongue out, resisting the urge to get all cozy, too. "Artie's around. He's looking for other angels to help, and they're going to regroup right around here."

Matthew glanced up and shared a weird look with Ivan. "Oh. That's nice."

Didn't sound nice.

Alfred said, "Winter can suck balls!"

Something loud thumped into the snow, and Ivan hissed, pulling the twins closer. Arthur's voice snapped out, "What in the world?! Unhand those boys this instant!"

"What?" The dumb creature grunted, "I am keeping them warm. Do you know what that is like?"

Alfred peeked over Ivan's shoulder, and that look on Arthur's face screamed utter betrayal. "W-well, you...fine! You try anything funny, and I'll strangle you with your own tail. You hear me?!"

"Oh, I hear something..."

Matthew hit Ivan's stomach.

Arthur made a snooty noise as he circled around the trio, glaring up and down, "I'm a tad surprised you even bothered to come. It would have been wise to simply flee back to Hell."

"Wise to you, but angels always had cold hearts."

"A demon in _love _sounds so much more sillier."

Matthew asked, "Guys? Can we not?"

Alfred stuck his face into Ivan's shoulder so he wouldn't stare at Arthur. Ivan snorted and giggled against him, "So, you're not going to join the cuddling?"

Arthur blanched, "Bloody Hell!"

Matthew tried, "Aren't you cold?" He must have been eying that toga. "I mean...on the outside."

"The skies are open to the weather. What angel would I be if I could not handle mere frost?"

"Ha-ha, mere frost," Ivan giggled again. "It would be interesting to see you walk through a lake of lava."

"Um," Matthew murmured, "you can't do that either."

"Matthew," Ivan scolded.

Arthur came closer, his tone dipping, "I would not speak like that to the others when they arrive. We do not have to do this. Consider yourself lucky to be spared. For us to allow you to walk amongst humans."

"I consider myself lucky for other reasons, but most certainly not _that_."

"Oh? I suppose you rather us send you back to where you crawled from in _pieces?_"

Ivan growled and his clutch tightened even further. Alfred didn't know what to say. He peeked at his brother for snippy reassurance, but Matthew just frowned at Arthur.

Alfred caught a glimpse of white as Arthur started to pace back and forth, "When we are finished, if you are caught undisguised for any reason you are out of Hell, know that we will be investigating why. Even for the slightest moment."

"Why can I not wear my cloak?"

"Cloaks are weak, temporary disguises. They can come off with heightened emotions. You can still smell and sense like a demon. You are still animalistic under a cloak. Our light will cancel any risks it poses."

Matthew asked, "So...whatever is going to happen, you guys won't kill him, right?"

Alfred had to see the kind of expression Arthur wore. The angel shrugged like he had no care in the world. "Personally, no, I will not try to traumatize you any further, Matthew. God knows your soul needs it. However, it has been a while since I heard of a demon sighting from the others. They may be a tad...anxious to see one again."

Matthew whispered, "Oh, no..."

Ivan rubbed his shoulder, "See? Easy trap."

"Be quiet, would you?"

Alfred whistled, "Damn."

Ivan grumbled, probably not too happy to be totally owned by Matthew, "If the angels are going to kill me, they lost the element of surprise."

Not able to help himself, Arthur whirled around, wings flicking out as he put his hands on his hips, "We do not need to swoop so low as to have the _element of surprise._"

"Little bird."

"Stupid oaf!"

Alfred threw his head back and obnoxiously groaned, "Cool! Great! Yeah! Name calling! Are your guys going to be here soon? I'm freaking freezing!"

Both of the dumb-nuts shut up. Arthur made an angry face at him, "Maybe you should have stayed home."

"Maybe _you _should have stayed home."

Arthur scoffed and rolled his eyes before he turned his back to the trio.

"Oh?" Ivan laughed a little, but then a great shudder ran through him. "Ugh! I think there is ice growing inside my nose!"

Matthew craned his head up, and yelled, "Uh, guys?!"

Then, Alfred heard the loud swooping and flinched. The Cuddle Buddies hollered and broke apart as a winged man thumped onto the forest floor. He sprung to stand and grinned brighter than the Sun. "We have an interesting mix today."

It was Antonio. In a toga. Alfred had to snort. Antonio tipped his head at him.

Matthew freaked out, "That's my boss! Holy shit, that's-"

"Antonio," Arthur loudly greeted and stepped around everybody to see him eye-to-eye.

Antonio had his gaze on Matthew. "Hey. I didn't expect you to be here."

"Uh, hi," Matthew tried. "I-I didn't expect you to be an angel."

Antonio glanced to Ivan, then down to Matthew clinging onto his arm. "_You're _with the demon?"

"This isn't related to my paycheck, right?"

Antonio didn't laugh.

Arthur asked, "Have you heard from anyone yet?"

"No later than you. Elizabeta shouldn't be too long now." Antonio stared at Alfred again. "Here for the drama, friend?"

Alfred trained his eyes on Antonio as everybody else turned their heads. "Emotional support, actually."

"Ah, that's wonderful, but...uh, you're shaking a lot."

"I'm cold."

Antonio steadily stared at Ivan, but before he could manage anything coherent, another angel arrived (or dropped) soon after. A lady, from the light brown hair flying all over the place as she thunked onto the grass, and anyone who was standing too close got showered with snow.

"Hello, gentlemen!" She was wearing a toga, too. Nice. Antonio and Arthur actually avoided her gaze. "I heard there's a demon on the loose!"

Ivan grunted, most likely annoyed if anything, and the lady-angel smacked a hand to her mouth and giggled.

What had to be another angel shouted from above, "Out of the way!" _Thud_! _Two _of them fell down as soon as the others scrammed.

A pair of almost-twins - they had to be related-glanced around the newcomers. The guy held an arm out in front the girl like they were surrounded by zombies. "This is an interesting bunch, Kirkland."

Arthur retorted, "Nice for you to take time out of your _busy _schedule to make it, Basch."

"Erika!" Elizabeta cheered and practically tackled the girl that was almost half her size. "It's _marvelous _to see you again!"

Yeah, she seriously said marvelous. Alfred swore he saw one of Basch's eyes twitch. His sister politely patted Elizabeta on the back. "Hello, Miss Elizabeta. I worried there was going to be no one else I knew."

Erika glanced to the twins, and Alfred smiled, doing a small wave. She hesitated before mimicking the gesture. These angels should give him a hug, too.

Antonio asked, "Are we waiting for more?"

Ivan grumbled something, but Arthur spoke over whatever he said, "There are those blokes from the North that should be here shortly. Give them time. It's a while away."

Matthew said, "Don't freak out!"

Alfred gave him a weird look. He wasn't freaking. Oh, he was talking to Ivan. Must have been hard _not_ to freak out with all those angels suddenly staring at you, full of that bright demon-be-gone at their fingertips...

Basch jerked his chin toward Matthew, "Is he one of _them _as well?"

Alfred gave him a funky look. "Does he look like a freaking demon?"

"Alfred," Arthur warned. He turned to Basch, "No, but thank him for our gathering this day."

Basch was disgusted and didn't even try to hide it.

Elizabeta chipped in, "So what are we doing? You told me we were dealing with a demon, but with how many of us are here, I'd expect you caught more than one. Unless..." A smile slowly sprung on her pretty face, "We're not dealing with it in the traditional sense."

"Kirkland," Basch said. "What is going on."

Arthur must have expected a minor outrage and actually kept his cool as his fellow angels turned to him. "Listen, all of you. Matthew, here, tangled himself with a demon, and well, to keep it short, we were planning to neutralize its demonic rubbish so there are no more unnecessary arguments and drama."

"_What_?!" Of course, out of all the surprised muttering, Basch seethed the most, "From whom? A _demon?!"_

"Arthur!" Antonio gave him a hard stare. "I thought you already took care of this."

"Wait, you know, too?" Basch scoffed, "_Both _of you. What sort of town is this to breed traitorous angels!"

Erika patted Basch's arm, "Brother! Please! Calm down!"

Arthur shot an irritated scowl at the twins and Ivan before aiming it at Basch, "Would you let me explain? Thank you!" He didn't sound thankful at all. "I carried out the typical procedure. I cleansed Matthew in case it was demonic possession. I engaged the demon. It was taken down without showing much of those...dark abilities, which proved that it has not been feeding off of anybody during its time on the surface as I firstly and rightfully believed.

"I come to the conclusion that both of them have...ahem, somehow managed covert yet friendly relations, and therefore mean no harm to the people around them."

Alfred nodded to his brother, but Matthew just hung his head.

Basch sputtered like a middle-aged soccer mom asking for the manager, "It's a _demon_!" Obviously. "Its presence is a harm to humans and even us!"

Antonio decided to be a part of the Party Poopers and Butt Kissers Inc. and agreed, "Yes, it is strange that you did not just send it back to Hell the first time you caught wind of it. Without its wings."

Alfred swore under his breath. "He's a fucking guy. Not an _it_!"

Erika pointed out, "It's behaving right now." She looked to Ivan, "Right, Mister Demon?"

Basch blanched in great horror, "Don't talk to it!"

Ivan smiled, but it was super fake.

Arthur stomped a foot. "Enough! This is why we should have it neutralized! So it's not a threat!"

Antonio shook his head. "I don't know friend. I think we should just sent it back to Hell."

Alfred jumped as Matthew hollered, "No!"

Arthur snapped, "No, we can talk about this. Will we just talk. For once?!"

Basch repeated, "Why should we? It's a demon."

Alfred said, "And you're rude," earning a dirty look.

Arthur kept his glower on the other blond angel, "If we neutralize it, it will be as if it was never one in the first place! We will not have to worry about anyone being pissy and unreasonable. We are angels! We are supposed to grow goodwill. How can we do that if we rip a pair apart?"

"No!" Antonio wagged his head side-to-side like he put something funny in his mouth. "This feels wrong! It feels like you're siding with the creature. Our ancestors would have smote it right away without a second thought."

"Yes! Thank you!" Basch barked, "Since when do demons have these...these frivolous _feelings_? Even if it is true, surely it's all one-sided."

Ivan sniped, "I have felt feelings since I was born."

"Nobody told you to speak!"

Ivan just shook his head. Matthew snuck in a distressed, "I'm sorry," but none of the angels would have heard it.

Arthur dropped his eyes to the ground, "I am _not _turning against Heaven, if that's what you're implying. Besides, this is our time. We're not a bunch of mindless warriors anymore."

There were horrified gasps. If the angels had pearls, they'd probably clutch onto those, too. Alfred, so beyond annoyed, yelled obnoxiously loud, but to himself, "Jeez! I thought angels help people. I'd think that if a demon was willing to get help, they wouldn't stand there and complain the whole time!"

All the angels went quiet, except for Elizabeta, whose hand over her mouth did not do much against her giggling and shoulders shaking.

Basch scolded Arthur, "I suggest the next time you are going to bring guests, make sure they're more mannered."

Arthur turned his face away from everybody.

Now that just ticked Alfred off. "Hey! Don't be putting the blame on Artie. I came here because I wanted to. If you got something to say, then say it to me!"

"Alfred!" Matthew cried, "Don't pick a fight with the angels, please! That's what we're trying to avoid!"

Erika hastily agreed, "I don't want anybody to fight! We don't need to."

Suddenly, Basch resigned, "Yes...fighting...especially amongst ourselves should be out of the question."

Yeah, it should be. Alfred made sure he was going to pray to Erika from then on.

Elizabeta swished her hands at the twins, "The human's right. You boys always want to take the quickest way out, even if it's the harshest one." Once she put her hands on her waist, it was over for everybody. "Why are you all throwing a hissy fit over this? We can just neutralize the demon and be on our merry way. There is literally no reason to drag your feet and groan about it."

"Yes," Arthur grumbled, "since everyone has important things to do, let us stop this squabbling and get on with it."

Antonio said, "I do not want to use the goodwill I harvested on a demon! It seems counterproductive."

Alfred threw his head back and groaned, then stared at Antonio to make sure he knew he was being annoying.

Arthur retorted, "You can easily obtain more."

"It's...a bit more tedious than you're making it out to be."

"Not if you do your job correctly."

"Oh, Arthur, please!" Antonio held up a hand, "Do not make me go over there and defeatherize you."

"That's not even a word!"

"See, Erika!" Basch wildly gestured to the squabbling pigeons, "This is why you stay out of everyone's affairs and make sure they don't get into yours!"

"Ah, yes, Brother!"

Arthur hunched his wings up and out like a threatened owl. "Come over here and try it. See what happens to you."

Elizabeta scoffed and stomped a foot into the snow, "Really?! What did we just say? No fighting!"

"See that demon over there?" Antonio asked as he rounded Arthur, "The one you didn't take care of? Your wings are going to look just as naked as its!"

Then, this giant angel slammed into the ground, right between Antonio and Arthur, and they screamed and flew backwards. The newcomer snapped in a loud and deep voice, "Enough!"

"Whoa," somebody squeaked. It might have been Alfred.

Big guy. Almost as big as Ivan. Maybe bigger. Maybe big as. Either way, he was big. Did Alfred forget to jot that down? His eyes, a fierce green-blue, ran over everybody as they slowly backed away from him raising an arm and swishing it in the air.

Another, much smaller (and chubbier) angel came down, and doubled over with a wheezy sigh. "We...ha, we didn't miss much, huh, Berwald?"

Alfred thought Arthur's scowls were powerful. "Something smells burnt."

Arthur shoved his way through everyone to put his fists on his waist, like he wasn't nearly half this guy's size. "There you two are! Finally. When I say there is a demon in our midst, I would think it would classify as an emergency!"

Berwald just grunted, and Arthur coughed and glanced away. Alfred had to try that sometime. These guys were interesting; instead of the usual togas and sandals, they had a decent sense of the weather and wore longer robes and furry boots. Although the expression on his face did not make him seem happy for 'hello's.'

Arthur smacked his hands together in a short, sarcastic clap. "Great! So, there's more than enough of us. Didn't know you were bringing extra, Tino."

A lot of extra, actually. Tino let out an obviously fake laugh, "Oh! You know what the humans say! The more, the merrier!"

"I think seven of us will be too much for a neutralization."

Berwald glared at Arthur, who immediately angled his face away. Matthew let out a heavy sigh, "They're going to fight about this now?!"

Alfred wouldn't have it. "It's freezing! Are we going to do this or not?"

Basch snapped, "Erika will stand out of the circle unless she is needed."

Erika whined, "Brother! I can handle it!"

"I do not doubt you," Basch's voice actually became soft, "but one of us should keep our store of luminescence if possible."

"That makes sense. I agree with the human, though. We should start now, don't you think?"

"Wait!" Tino pointed to Ivan, "_That's _the demon?! Holy moly! I..." He looked around to meet everyone's various degrees of annoyance. "Okay, never mind. I just hope all of you know what we're doing."

"Ivan." Arthur made a 'come here' motion. "You may approach."

Ivan didn't budge. The dummy.

Arthur stamped a foot on the ground, "It's either this or go back to torturing the souls of the damned!"

"Why does everyone think we do that? The screams would give me a headache after a while-"

Matthew smacked his backside, cutting whatever off with a yelp. Wordlessly, Ivan spun around and grabbed his face, and holy crap, he was angry or something-

Oh, okay, never mind, they were just kissing.

Alfred felt his chin drop. Wait a minute, they were kissing!

"You can do it," Matthew murmured. They smiled at one another, but they both looked sad while doing it. Ivan bumped their foreheads together in a funny little gesture before hurrying to the angels.

Alfred quickly glanced back and forth and crept to his brother's side. "Dude! You guys talked about The Feelings?!"

The angels dispersed around Ivan, forming a circle. Arthur pointed and gestured, warning the others to not go overboard. Matthew pulled an odd face as his mouth trembled. "Yeah. He's got The Feelings, too."

"Woo! Fist bump!" Nothing. Alfred tipped his head. "Mattie?"

Matthew squeezed his eyes shut and just shook his head.

* * *

_A.N.- According to this site's spellcheck, 'defeatherize' is not a word. According to my heart, it is._


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

* * *

It was terrifying.

The light swallowing Ivan whole.

The screams of raw pain bursting from his chest.

Demon or not, Alfred squeezed his brother tighter as wetness trickled down his cheeks.

Another flash.

The screaming choked off. A heavy body hit the ground. The light slowly receded. The twins picked up their heads from shielding one another, squinting and blinking as everything washed away. The angels loosened their circle, clutching themselves and each other and murmuring in collective worry. Ivan laid on the snowy grass, not moving.

"Oh, no..." Matthew pulled away from Alfred to cup his hands over his mouth. "Ivan!"

Alfred wasn't sure to go after him. He glanced around the angels again. Erika excitedly bounced on her toes around Berwald, who looked on with slight interest while others were a little more..._taken back _from it all.

There was another body crumpled in the snow, not too far from Ivan. "Arthur! Jeez!" Alfred shook a bony shoulder. "Come on, you're not dead!"

"For fuck's sake." A slow hand flailed in his direction as Arthur kept his head between his knees. "Stop yelling."

"I'm not yelling," Alfred crouched beside him and stuck a hand to the side of his face, not really knowing what he was doing. The glowing was gone. Arthur didn't even bother to flinch away from his touch.

Alfred propped his side against Arthur's and lifted him to his feet. "I can stand!" Arthur said, totally lying. He wobbled a bit, scrunching his eyebrows together, before sighing and leaning against Alfred's shoulder. "The others? They're...oh, it's alive."

Ivan became slightly animated, although without anymore horns and wings and creepy eyes, as Matthew fretted over him. Alfred took a step forward to investigate, too, but Arthur yanked on the back of his coat.

Antonio slowly knelt a little ways from Ivan, gasping, "Wow! That must be our hard work!"

"It worked?!" Erika glanced around her comrades. "Right?" Basch wouldn't let her closer with an arm held out in front of her. "Right?!"

"He doesn't smell like a demon anymore," Antonio said. "All burnt up, and...ugh."

Ivan managed to hoist himself up to sit against Matthew and sniffed at the angel. "You do not smell like an angel anymore. That is good. Your stench was making me contemplate driving a blade through my skull."

Matthew cooed, "At least you didn't."

Woo, yay! Everything was okay! Well, Mattie and Ivan were smiling all stupid at one another, so it had to be okay, right? Tino said something, verbally patting them on the backs, but Alfred didn't register it as they squished their faces together. "Oh! Come on, dudes!"

Elizabeta clapped.

Arthur scoffed, "I dare say that was a job well done. What did I tell you? Yet some of you were all dragging your feet before."

Basch's near smile fell. "That is over with now. If you excuse us, we will be leaving now. Consider our debt to you, repaid." He grabbed Erika's hand, and tossed an undisguised scowl of disgust to the pair squeezing the life out of one another. "Ugh, kids never have any effort of control, do they?"

At least Matthew had the dignity to look up, a little guilty. Erika waved at him, "Come by our way sometime! Any of you!"

Alfred craned his head back as they leaped up and flapped away. "Yeah, you're totally excused, dude."

"She's right," Elizabeta said. "Why don't we come together more often?"

Tino agreed, "Yeah! There just aren't enough apocalyptic scenarios or massive deaths for a big number of us to be one place!"

"I would happen to agree," Arthur said. Alfred did a double take. "With the regrouping. Not the number of worldly misfortunes, I mean."

Antonio laughed, but raised his arms and wings out to stretch. "Woo! I'm pretty tuckered out. I don't know about you, but I'm going to get back to the bookstore. Yes! I was-"

"Away with you, then," Arthur couldn't be as pissy as usual after all of that. "Before your...bookstore misses you."

"Yes! Yes, I'll go now!" Antonio crouched before launching himself to the sky with a delighted laugh.

"Yeah," Alfred said a bit tersely. "Bye, Antonio."

Tino sighed all happily, "We ought to leave too, huh, Berwald? After all, it's a long flight to the North Pole."

Alfred snapped his attention in their direction as Berwald gave a curt nod. "North Pole?! Holy cow, why'd you come all the way from there?!"

"Oh, we came from all over! We owed Arthur a good favor or two. It's the least we could do."

"Are you going to look at the penguins?"

Arthur smacked his own forehead. "Penguins don't live at the North Pole, Alfred. Nothing lives at the North Pole."

Alfred pointed out, "That's what they want you to think."

Tino didn't seem to get it. "Um, maybe we'll send a post card in the meantime!"

"Thank you for stopping by," Arthur called out as they turned away. "Are you fit to travel?"

Berwald nodded again and lifted his wings. "Don't need the goodwill to fly." With a heavy swoop, he heaved himself off the ground, knocking snow onto Tino's legs.

"Oh! W-wait!" Tino jumped and flapped after him. "Thanks for everything! Bye!"

Alfred waved an arm, nonchalantly squeezing Arthur closer with the other. "Thanks for, uh, yeah!"

Arthur cleared this throat and addressed the last angel watching the skies, "Elizabeta?"

Elizabeta crossed her arms. "Trying to get rid of me so soon?" She snorted and pointedly glared a nearby tree.

Alfred giggled, but Arthur just looked stumped.

A grin broke through her guise, "I need my beauty sleep, anyway. Maybe I'll stop by sometime again, just to see what you two are up to. Until then! Take care!"

Arthur grumbled as she hopped and launched into the air, "I'm not up to anything."

Alfred watched Matthew stand and pull, or try to pull, Ivan up, but the big lug didn't seem to be helping much. "See, Artie? I helped, too."

"_Hmph_."

Matthew grunted, getting red in the face, but managed to prop the guy against his waist. "Come on, you bear, get up!"

"Whoa, hey!" Alfred took a step forward, not really doing anything with Arthur against his side. "Let me-"

Ivan groaned and fell to the grass again.

"Hey!" Matthew swooped down and grabbed his coat. "Ivan!"

Alfred asked, "Is he dead?"

Arthur _tsk_ed, "After all that, he better not be!" Matthew put his arms over Ivan's unconscious figure as he crept closer. "Get up, you, you-!"

"Arthur!" Alfred pulled him away. "Don't kick him!"

"I wasn't! I was gently nudging him with my foot. Repeatedly."

"Okay, you're tired and in a bad mood. But that doesn't mean you should pick on people!"

"Hey, hey!" Matthew was still freaking out over Ivan, "How am I going to get him home?! It's too cold to stay out here!"

"Ugh! Stop getting so worked up!" Arthur shouldered Alfred away and marched over to Ivan. He flopped down beside his head and held out a palm. "Come on, now. Where do you want him?"

Alfred and Matthew smiled at one another as they grabbed the angel's hands. Mattie said, "To my bedroom. Please."

Arthur nodded and closed his eyes. Alfred squeezed his shut, too, bracing for that funny flying feeling, and when it eventually happened, it still sent him ajar. The next second, they were on Matthew's bedroom floor.

Alfred swiped a hand over his forehead, "I don't think I will ever get used to that."

Matthew blinked stupidly. He flinched as Arthur moaned and slouched forward, and Alfred leaped to catch him before he face-planted right on top of Ivan. "Artie?" He tapped his friend's face, but now he wasn't responding either! "Agh! He's dead!"

"Oh, my God." Matthew shot an arm out to motion, "He is not! Look! He's still breathing."

"Oh, yeah, he is." That's good.

Matthew shook his head before inhaling deeply to try to get Ivan off the floor again. "Holy crap!"

Alfred had to laugh, although impressed when Mattie finally got the guy onto his bed. "Much easier the other way around, huh?" He made a show to swoop down, prop Arthur against his shoulder, and plucked him right from the carpet. It totally helped that Arthur was lighter than he expected. "Do you even lift, bro?"

Matthew dissented with one last grunt to adjust Ivan and pry his boots off, "I can lift!"

Alfred gave him a dubious look behind his back. "Yeah, you lift pancakes into your mouth."

"I'll slap you in the face with one." Lame. Matthew held out his hands like Ivan was going to roll off the bed, but Ivan sure looked cozier than Alfred was at the moment. "Are you going to stay?"

Alfred blinked in surprise, but sheepishly grinned when his brother stood to face him. "Nah. I should get Artie back to his motel room." He rolled his shoulder to adjust to the angel's weight, "I'm going to have to say this is like, a costume or something."

"Oh, you're...do you know when you'll come back?"

Alfred tried to keep his face smooth. "I don't know. But I will be back!"

"Okay," Matthew quickly spun around to try to peel off Ivan's coat. Alfred watched the show for a moment too long, until his bro peeked over his shoulder. "Hey, Al, thanks for being there. I really appreciate it."

"Aw, man! Quit it! You're making me feel all mushy on the inside!"

"You _are _mushy on the inside, Al! Aha!" Matthew somehow got the coat off. Ivan didn't even flinch. Mattie brushed some of his pale bangs back to cup his forehead. Now _that_ was mushy. "Take care, and tell Arthur 'Thank you' when he wakes up, okay?"

Alfred guessed that was his cue to leave Matthew alone. He didn't want to go this time, but they both had people they had to look after. "Sure, sure!" He amped up the cheeriness in his voice, but Matthew didn't seem to be paying attention anymore, anyway. With another adjustment, Al ducked out of the bedroom.

Thoughts of dropping Arthur down the stairs or accidently smacking his head into a wall did not help matters at all as Alfred painstakingly lowered himself down each step. He sighed in big relief when the both of them made it unscathed. Artie wasn't particularly heavy, but it was more weight than Alfred was used to lugging around, especially to the other side of town. Not to mention the bulky wings tapping the side of his head with every step.

A car zipped down the road, but slammed on its breaks as the driver had to get in a good gawking, but Alfred kept walking without meeting their stares. If Arthur was still glowing, that may have been an issue of outing himself in his unconscious state, but for now, costume party it was.

Alfred decided to cut across the road and loop behind people's yards and the shops for privacy's sake. This small town was too nosy, and the old people walking around? They would _never _shut up if they saw this. He slowed, pushing Arthur over his shoulder again when he slipped, and took a heavy breath before hurrying down the rest of the alleyway.

A wing smacked Alfred's face, and suddenly Arthur's legs waved up and down like a doll coming to life.

"Whoa, hey!" Alfred latched a hand over the angel's butt to keep him from falling or shoving himself away. "Chill out!"

Arthur quietly rasped without much more fight, "Where...where..."

"We're headed back to your place. You sort of...knocked yourself out, dude."

"Hm," Arthur slipped an arm around Alfred's neck, and his fingers clutched onto the back of his coat. "You're very warm."

Alfred let out a little laugh, "Thanks, I guess." Both went quiet, and he wondered if Arthur passed out again. "You...you make me warm, Artie."

Arthur didn't respond. He was totally out again.

Yeah, that was kind of embarassing.

"Oh, my God! What is that?!"

Alfred uncertainly slowed and glanced around. One of Arthur's neighbors immediately pushed from the motel's porch with a cigarette in hand and arms flapping as she flung herself down the steps, right after the angel. He shook his head and scuffled to the side, but she didn't seem to get it.

"Hey, hi, okay, yeah, please don't-"

"Are those real?!" The lady reached a hand out, the one with the freaking cigarette between her fingers to touch one of Arthur's wings! Alfred turned to hunch his other shoulder towards her defensively. "How did you even-"

"It's a costume, and it's very flammable!" Alfred shouted over whatever she said. "It's a costume, all right?! Bye!" He marched by her and stomped up the porch steps. The lady followed, still flapping her hands and going, "Oh, oh!"

Alfred jammed a hand in his jean's pocket for Arthur's spare key, cursing under his breath, "Fuck off already, would you?" He glanced over to see the neighbor petting a wing, mesmerized. A force of heat shot up Alfred's throat, and he had to choke back from yelling down the town, "Go away! I asked nicely before, now stop molesting him!"

"They so real!"

"You don't even know what real ones feel like!" Even though she kind of did know now, Alfred swung the door open and shoved himself and Arthur inside.

"Oh! Wait!"

"Nope! No!" Alfred slammed the door in the lady's face and turned the lock and the deadbolt.

"Hey!"

Alfred ignored her knocking to brace Arthur against his other arm and tried to gently lay him on his bed with his wings spread over the mattress. He almost fell on top of him and squished the guy, but thankfully caught himself before _that _happened. "Phew, okay! Wow! He waved his arms and stretched and wiggled to get some feeling back. That annoying neighbor stopped knocking, and hopefully screwed off at this point. He peeled off his coat, dropped it over a dining chair, and plopped into the other.

"What a fucking day."

Alfred pulled out his phone and scrolled through his messages, but nobody texted him. He sent to his brother, _'How's everything?'_ He turned and peeked out the window, but he only saw a narrow walkway between the parking lot and the next apartment building. Talk about a view.

Matthew shot back before he got too bored, _'Ivan's still sleeping. I bet he's going to be out for a while.'_

_'Lol same with Artie'_

Alfred glanced over their previous messages before tacking, _'You?'_

_'I'm fine. :)'_

At least, when Matthew says he's 'fine,' it's a bit believable.

Alfred put his phone down and sighed, too unnoccupied, but too tired to do anything. His eyes slipped close, but the table jammed into his chest when he leaned forward. He stupidly snorted and grunted, blinking and winking from nearly smashing his face.

"Ugh, okay, maybe I should-"

Arthur thrashed, coming to life with a gasp. Alfred jumped as he rolled over, struggling with a wing trapped under himself. Before Al could peel himself from his seat, the angel managed to get free and plant himself face-down on the bed.

"Um, what the fuck?"

Arthur didn't respond.

Alfred scrambled out of the chair and crept around the bed like it held some sort of zombie that would reanimate and grab him at any moment. "Artie?"

Arthur turned his head to stare with one eye open. He mumbled something against his pillow, but with his face pratically squished into it, how was anybody supposed to understand?

"Uh, what?"

"Why don't you come here?"

Alfred tugged off his shoes and glasses before crawling over to Arthur. "You okay?" A pale hand shot out and camped onto his forearm. "Eek!" He tried to pull away from the zombie-angel, having watched too many horror movies and certainly did _not _want to be a prime example from any of them.

"Stop, relax." Zombies don't talk. Well, usually they don't, but-

Arthur let go to rest a hand on Alfred's shoulder, and gave him a weak squeeze. "It's been a long day. Relax."

Taking a bet that this was still 'normal' Arthur and not zombie Arthur, Alfred lowered himself to the mattress, real slow in case he had to run. "Talk about me relaxing?" He uneasily laughed when a cold finger lifted to prod between his eyebrows, "I wasn't the one shooting light from my hands."

Arthur's hand lowered to run down his arm and cup his wrist as he grumbled, "This is worse than a hangover."

"Oh." Alfred knew there were a few things worse than waking up from drinking too much, but didn't know what else to say. He shifted to his unnoccupied side to look around the room, but it was Arthur's motel room, and there was not really anything ever interesting about it. Guess he had to sleep.

The body beside Alfred's sighed and the mattress dipped as he scooted closer. His skin erupted in goose bumps as Arthur trailed his fingers up his arm again, and Alfred wondered if this was that weird way angels 'fed' off of people. It didn't hurt.

"Are you cold?"

Great. If Alfred said no, it may be too curt. If he said yes, then Arthur may stop touching him. "Uh...a little?" He glanced over his shoulder without reply. Arthur was intently watching him. "You?"

Arthur ducked his head and mumbled something, "...fine." It went quiet again, and Alfred tried to keep his breathing soft. Seriously, he was worried if his _breathing _was too loud. Of all things. It cut off when a blanket fell over him, just before a thin arm snaked across his stomach and Arthur pressed against his back. "Is that...better?"

"Huh?" Alfred grunted like some kind of dumb creature.

"I-I'm not able to keep you warm, but-"

"Nah, it's fine!" How could Alfred not be fine, with his butt up against the angel like that? "It's warm enough," he insisted, getting more than warm as his voice came out quick. "Uh, you? Feeling better?"

"Hm," Arthur squeezed closer, "I think I might need a little longer..."

Ah, Heaven.

Wait.

Alfred was the little spoon.

Aw, dang it.

"Take your time, man."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

* * *

It was super dark, so there was more time to sleep. Nice. Alfred meant to turn over, but a body draped over his chest. His heart started hammering before he even fully knew what was going on. A delicate light ticked away the darkness with each soft breath from the body against his own.

The glowing came back. A good nap and good vibes cleared all of that right up. Not to mention some good spooning, but hey, there Alfred went, thinking about it again. He laughed to himself and nuzzled the pillow beneath him, getting quiet a moony sigh. He couldn't stop grinning through the darkness. Little spoon, organic pillow, yes please, he'll be them all.

"You're awake."

Alfred froze from the teeny whisper. Party's over. He snorted and blinked as if he just became coherent, "Huh? Wha...?"

"Oh!" Arthur yanked away, and a cold presence crashed in his place. "You're...I was just checking!"

"Uh-huh?" Alfred slumped his head to where his buddy scrambled off, and he could make out a figure slouching over the side of the bed. "Checkin' for what?"

"What? Nothing. Don't be an idiot." The bed squawked and sprung up as Arthur hurried across the room. The bathroom door shut, and Alfred put a hand over himself where he was laying moments ago.

"Checking for what?"

Alfred couldn't help but feel used. Chewed up, like the person-burger Matthew accused him being. He reminded himself that he helped an actual angel by bringing back the lively glowing to his skin. Even if he _was _a person-burger.

Being a person-burger sucked.

Arthur came out of the bathroom and started flicking on lights, adding insult to injury to poor Alfred's heart. Alfred sniffled and rubbed his eyes as it sounded like he dug amongst pots and pans. Of course Arthur made a bee-line to his precious tea kettle. "Come on, dude, go back to bed."

No reply. Of course not. Arthur was probably too busy gazing lovingly at that kettle. Alfred spoke louder, "Can you make me a cup?" Not really wanting tea, but he didn't get the attention he wanted, either.

"I will."

Alfred patted the nearby nightstand for his glasses. "Are you feeling better?"

"Fine." Arthur was just too darn busy getting out the cups and sugar to catch his eye.

"You said it was worse than a hangover."

"I'm on my feet now, aren't I?"

Alfred plopped back onto the mattress when his glasses avoided his outstretched hand, too. He didn't want to get up ever again. "What time is it?"

"Almost ten. Why?"

"Whoa. At night?"

"No, idiot. It's this dark in the morning."

"You jerk." Playing with Alfred's heart like that.

A hand grabbed his shoulder and shook his eyes open. Alfred almost started snoozing again. He blinked at the figure of white before him, and Arthur was terse, "Did you still want tea? If not, go back to bed, and I'll turn off the lights."

"Nah, dude." Alfred's arms trembled as he pushed himself to a somewhat sitting position. "Pass the tea." He's going to become a freaking tea leaf or blossom or whatever if he kept this up. Probably all a part of Arthur's master plan. Alfred would be reincarnated as a tasty plant.

"Careful...don't spill it on my sheets."

Alfred cupped whatever Arthur held out in front of his face, but pinned his cool hands to the mug, "Hey, come chill out next to me. Please?"

Arthur slipped away without a word.

Alfred nodded stiffly to his cup, trying to keep disappointment down his throat. He really didn't want the tea. The other side of the bed dipped, and he looked up, wide-eyed as Arthur scooted over, careful of his own mug. "O-oh, hey!"

Grumpy Gums grunted unattractively as he wiggled into a cozy spot, almost clipping Alfred's arm with a wing and making him spill his precious drink. Alfred asked again, "Hey? How are you feeling?"

"I thought you already asked me that."

Alfred pressed his hot cup to Arthur's arm until he flinched away. "I asked if you were feeling better. How are you feeling _now_?"

"Fine."

Of course. "Hm, fine."

Arthur hunched over his own cup like a defensive owl. "Shut up."

"Shut up."

"All right, enough with the stupid mockery."

"Enough with the stupid mockery. Meh, meh, meh!"

Arthur audibly gritted his teeth, a short warning before a hefty wing smacked Alfred on the side of his head. "I told you to be quiet."

Although he was just smacked on the upside, Alfred peeled into laughter, "You can't _really _make me-"

Arthur shot a hand up to Alfred's face, holding it right before his eyes. "Do I have to zap your brain until it's charred meat?"

Alfred flinched and held up an arm. "What?! Ew, no! Then your whole place is going to smell like overcooked brain!"

"I figured having ashes in your skull would be more of a problem for you." Arthur pulled back his threatening stance with a little tut, "I'm afraid that may already be the case here."

"Hey!" Alfred giggled, unable to make himself offended. Certainly not learning his lesson, he slowly leaned his head until it nested on Arthur's bony shoulder. "You sure have your way with words, don't you?"

"_Hmph_." Arthur brought his cup close to his face. But! He totally let Alfred chill against him.

"It's...this isn't bad, is it?"

"Of course not! _I_ made the tea, after all."

"No, dude, I mean...I mean, yeah! You had like, a whole century to get it right."

"Yes...and other things, not so much."

Like cooking chili. Or talking to people. Or...Alfred looked down to his barely touched cup in his hands, and started as feathers brushed against his back. Being close to someone. "I think you're doing all right."

Arthur quietly scoffed, "You don't even know what I'm talking about."

"I don't need to! I say it's all right, so it is."

"Oh, really? How convenient. If only life worked like that."

"Why wouldn't it?" Alfred picked up his head to watch the angel's face shift to something like fright. "It can if you make it that way, y'know?"

"That's..." Arthur shook his head. "There you go again, saying unhinged things as if you have no care in the world."

"Arthur?" Eyebrows stared at his tea without anymore acknowledgement. Alfred plucked a hand from his lap and slowly lowered it onto one of Arthur's like it would jump up and bite him. It didn't this time. "Okay, well, uh, if you...if _you _have some cares or whatever in the world, I, uh, just let me know. We're in this together. Remember?"

"Yes, Alfred, I remember." Arthur tipped his head and gave his brows a small frow, like a curious bird. "What is on your mind now?"

"Agh, come on," Alfred gave his head a little roll, squishing the urge to scratch the back of his neck like a maniac while both of his hands were occupied with tea and another hand. "You probably already know. You can like, read souls and stuff, man."

Arthur sprouted a toothy little grin, and Alfred found himself gnawing on the inside of his cheek. "Yes, and yet people surprise me with things they say..."

Their fingers knitted tightly together. "Yeah?"

"Or what they don't say."

They were close now. Eyelashes fluttered. Cheeks grew hot - mostly Alfred's. He just hoped that if the angel's lips made contact with his, he wouldn't forget...

Someone's phone buzzed obnoxiously loud against the nightstand, scaring the nerves right from the both of them as they smacked their heads together. Alfred slapped a hand to his forehead, hissing as tea soaked his lap and the blankets as he tried to kick them away. It was his phone. Of course it was. It was always the phones.

Alfred slammed his half-full cup on the closest nightstand and snatched his phone as Arthur warbled in pain. He balked at the caller name, "Seriously? Mattie?!" He laughed nervously as he gave his head another tender prod, "I didn't even realized I had it up that loud!"

Arthur dashed off the bed and ripped away the covers before tea could soak into the mattress. Too late for his blankets, though. "Pick up the damn phone already, would you?!"

"Yeah, I know." Alfred took a few steadying breaths as his heart hammered like he just ran a race. Didn't get anywhere, though, in more ways than one. He put the phone to his ear. "Bro, seriously?" He couldn't keep an edge from his voice, "Shouldn't you be in bed by now?" Anytime Matthew could have called, and it had to be at _that _moment.

"Hush up, Al." Oh, how Alfred missed that voice. Not. "Dad just called me. Apparently, the school is not happy with us being absent all the time and neither is he!"

Alfred just blinked. Of all things to bug him about, Matthew chose school. School! In the last forty-eight hours, Al did not even think of it for one second. "So what?"

"Well, if you don't want Dad to get fined to Hell and back, and probably take it out of our allowances, then I suggest we go to school tomorrow."

"Seriously?" Alfred almost suggested for his brother to shove a sock in his mouth. He jumped as a light hand touched his shoulder, and eased as Good Feelings rushed up his arm. "I can't believe it," he said more gently. "How can we go from watching a bunch of angels doing their stuff to the Calculus teacher's butt jiggling two desks over?"

"I don't know," Matthew admitted. "At least we can look forward to coming home after a long day?"

Alfred glanced at movement to his side as Arthur grabbed his tea and took it away. "That doesn't make it all better." He flinched as he got a wing in the face, and spat at feathers, "Dude! Watch it!"

Arthur just gave him a weird look over his shoulder.

Matthew said from the other line, "Huh?"

"Nothing. Talking to Arthur." Alfred flopped back onto the bed, and lifted his glasses to rub his flushed face.

"Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"You said something?"

Matthew sighed, "I said I told Dad that you were sick, and that's why we stayed home."

Alfred nodded, staring at the ceiling even though it was bland. "So that's the story. Okay."

"Are you going to school tomorrow?"

"I wasn't really planning on it..."

"Oh." Matthew sounded so sad, "I guess I'm sitting by myself at lunch."

Alfred rolled his eyes "Not cool dude."

"Neither is skipping school, hooky player."

"You suck, dude."

"You ass." Matthew easily shot back. He then gasped, repeating, "You ass!"

Alfred pulled himself to sit with a grunt, "I get it!"

"No, not you. Ivan! That was my entire pancake you just-!"

"Oh, shit!" Pancake demon-thieves; the worse kind of demons. Alfred said, "I think I'm going to let you go..."

"Yeah! Good-"

Alfred hung up and dropped his phone back onto the nightstand. He grabbed it again to turn down the ringer volume before putting it down much more gently. Something brushed his back, and he twisted to see Arthur putting new comforters on the bed. "Where'd you get those?"

"Spares," was all Arthur said. "You're going to school tomorrow?"

"I guess. Dad's apparently getting ticked about us skipping."

"Of course. I would be, too."

Alfred rolled his eyes but kept them anywhere but on Arthur's face. Arthur had a giant spot on the front of his gown - oops, toga. Same difference. "Sure you would, tea stain."

Arthur immediately looked down and tossed his arms out, "Oh, for fuck's sake." He marched over to his dresser and started to ransack the top drawer. "This is why I told you not to spill anything on my covers!"

"Hey," Alfred lied, "That was you."

"Shut it." Arthur hurried to the bathroom and shut the door with a bit too much force. Why he had to hide all time confused Alfred. They had the same thing. Right? Right. Maybe he shouldn't be thinking about that.

"Oh, hey!" As soon as the door open, Alfred picked up his head and called, "How many of those dresses do you have?"

Arthur stopped to steadily glare for a solid moment before dropping his soiled clothes in the hamper. "Toga. It's a toga. There's a difference." He swooped down to pick up the old blankets and gave them a shake, like that would get the tea off. "I suppose if they dry...no, I really should wash them. Been a while. Ah, lots to do now."

"Like go back to sleep?"

"You just slept."

"It's cold." Alfred tried again.

Arthur turned his attention to stuffing all this blankets into the teeny laundry bin until its sides bulged out. "That's what the blankets are for."

"It's like, ten at night!"

"If you're still tired, then I'll keep quiet."

Great, so Arthur isn't going to come over and spoon him again. Alfred threw a blanket over his head to blot out the world and Feelings for a little while longer.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Soft murmuring and overlaying music annoyed Alfred out of his dozing. He peeled his face from his pillow and squinted blearily at the near-darkness. He shot a hand out, feeling for his glasses and put them in place before looking around without getting out of his warm bundling. Early morning had arrived, and _someone_ had turned on the small TV set.

Its light clashed with Arthur's glowing as his head and wings draped over the back of the loveseat. Every so often, a snore would catch in his throat. It was the least-dignifying Alfred ever seen of him. He propped an elbow on the bed, his smile getting bigger and bigger with each snuffle from across the room.

Arthur was too far away and too quiet, so Alfred slipped away from the warm bed to saddle up to his side on the couch. Some Chinese or Spanish commercial played, showing off fancy rings and purses that were the price of Dad's mortgage payments. He carefully leaned his head against Arthur's shoulder, missing some of those Good Feelings to chase the heavy sensation in his head.

Sooner than later, Arthur's snoring got irksome against Alfred's ear, so he sprung from the couch to pace around the kitchen. Nothing but old milk and old cheese for the old man. Alfred bounced on his toes and whined to the empty fridge, "I'm going to shrivel and starve if I stay here." From a random thought, he lifted his arm and sniffed. "Phew! And stink!"

The time on the stove told Alfred that he had a couple of hours before school, if it was the correct time; plenty of time to go home and wash up. Looks like all the fun times were drawing to a close as normal life resumed. School, back to all those guys and gals yammering about what they got for question two on the science test. He missed that kind of stuff. He hoped he got a good grade.

Alfred glanced to Arthur again as his stomach started to wake up and gurgle. That's it. He had to go home and put abnormal on pause. He hurried to the couch and shook Arthur's shoulder, resisting the thought of sneaking against his side again and closing his eyes. Arthur choked on a snort and thrashed, green eyes flying open and wings snapping close to his back.

"What, what? Who's...oh, you're awake." Arthur slowly leaned back on the couch and rubbed his face. "God, what time is it?"

"It's time to get up, dude. I have to get ready for school."

"Why are you telling me for? You're a grown man. Go on, now."

Alfred snorted and shook his head. "All righty, then." He hunted for his shoes, his phone, any little thing he left behind. Arthur eventually peeled himself from the couch to dig around his dresser. "You're tagging along?"

"Just to your house. Have to make sure there are no more demons around and about."

Alfred shrugged on his jacket with a little laugh. "Okay, Arthur. Sure." When he turned around, Arthur looked human. Human enough. A human that dropped his gaze to somewhere else as he came closer. "You all right?"

"Fine."

Wow, how did Alfred not see that one coming. He reached for Arthur's hand, but that little sneak fled into his coat pocket as he quickly turned for the door. "Yeah, same, I guess."

Alfred wasn't really, but...

Was it going to be this awkward the whole walk to the Bonnefoy house? It can't be. Just as Arthur swung the door open and clicked the locks into place, Alfred snagged the back of his coat before he could step outside, hooking an arm around his waist to press themselves together.

"Wha...Alfred," Arthur warned, but shut right up as Alfred kissed his forehead, and then pecked his cheek, but that was as far as his courage went.

"Uh...let's get going," Alfred mumbled.

"A smart suggestion," Arthur breathed. They walked down the porch together, and his hand crept out of his pocket to tease Alfred's...until he yanked away with a sudden holler, "Damn it, Alfred! The door!"

"What?" Alfred spun around, and his mouth popped open as the motel room was still wide open behind them. "Oh, shit!"

"Not funny." Even though it was. At least until Arthur shut the door and jammed his hands in his pockets when Alfred held one out for him. The trip was in silence, without hand-holding or light-hearted words soothing a night of awkwardness. It was the damned door's fault.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

* * *

"I can't believe we're walking to school together."

"Mattie, we always walk to school."

The sky was just getting light. Matthew watched Alfred with wide eyes behind his dorky glasses, "O-oh, I mean, you're always out the door before I even get a chance to get pants on. Besides, Arthur's been sticking around a lot lately, and we haven't been to school for like, a week, so yeah, it's been a while with just the two of us."

"Oh," was all Alfred said. That's the most Matthew spoke any morning. He broke out a hefty yawn, strong enough to make his eyes water. "Yeah, you're right. It's good that it's just the two of us."

"You think so?" Matthew asked, but didn't prod anymore as they entered the school.

Alfred kept quiet, not feeling keen to open his mouth and blabber about trivial things. They passed some people he sometimes talked to, but he stuck close to his brother. It was easy to talk to Mattie, because he didn't speak much in the first place.

Of course, the nerd wound up in the library, and there was a conga line to the librarian's counter for books or hall passes or whatever these geeks do in their domain. "It smells in here."

Matthew glanced behind himself. "Why'd you follow me, then?" Obviously surprised, he asked, "Are you getting a pass to come here during study hall?"

"What?" Alfred laughed at the thought. Although, libraries are pretty quiet, enough for him to be alone with the things running through his mind. Nope. That would be a bad idea. "No way! I was just going wherever you're going." He stared at his brother, almost slipping up to say he missed him, but stood there awkwardly instead.

"Well, if you picked one up, you would know that's what a book smells like." With that, Matthew turned to face the line.

Alfred blinked at the back of his head, then sprouted a smile to himself. "All right, Mattie. See you at lunch?"

"See you at lunch," Matthew agreed.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Ohmygod!" That infamous screech. The sound of high school girls about to piss themselves out of pure excitement. Alfred took one step in his first period class, only to get bombarded by his gal pals launching themselves at him. "Where have you been?!"

"You were absent since...before vacation!"

"Look! I painted my nails all glittery!"

"Ooh, nice!" Alfred beamed from the feminine affection, but some of his classmates shot him dirty looks. Petty. He smiled even more. "Yeah, sorry, there was..." He didn't think of an excuse for totally blowing them off for supernatural wonders. He knew he thought of thinking of an excuse, but did not actually make one up.

"Alfie?"

Alfred decided to take Matthew's excuse. "I was completely sick, my dudes. It was awful!"

"Oh, Al! Come on, let's sit."

"Ugh, I bet you feel like crap!"

One of the girls whispered not-so-quietly, "I thought you kind of looked under the weather."

"Thanks," Alfred said as they settled at their desks. His friends angled toward him, the center of the talk, and one of his bros held up a hand for a high-five.

"What's up, Al, my man! Missed you. How come you never texted me back?"

"I was super sick," Alfred repeated. "Like, I was blowing chunks, kind of sick."

His friend recoiled and blanched. "Ugh! Did not need _that _image in my head any time soon!"

"Any time _ever_!"

Alfred laughed, "Hey, you asked!"

One of the girls patted his arm before sneaking up to squeeze his shoulder. Her hand was warm and nails were sharp, "You're all better, right, Alfie?"

"I'm getting there."

At least they took the excuse.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Cue the conversation up to lunch. Alfred wiggled in his seat, restless for the period to end so he could finally eat. During break, he ate whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, spoiling his stomach, but now it was mad and empty and trapped against a desk.

"You didn't say what you did during Valentine's Day."

One of his study hall gals broke his clock-watching. "I was sick, remember?"

"The whole time?"

She seemed doubtful. Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, trying to keep his voice down for the quiet murmurs of the study period, "Well, not the whole time. I just stayed home, mostly. Played in the snow."

"That's probably how you got sick."

"Ha-ha, yeah..."

Another girl twisted around in her seat so fast, Alfred worried that she broke something. A sly smile stretched across her face as she gestured for everyone to lean in, "Well, my cousin's best friend's sister told me that she saw you running around late at night, like, last week."

The other girl raised her eyebrows at Alfred.

Was it only a week ago? It felt longer. "Uh, yeah, I was-"

"With Arthur."

Alfred clamped his mouth shut.

One of the guys turned around in his seat to butt into the conversation. "'Sup, man? I thought you said you were home the whole time."

Minus well get the whole class to join at this point. "I said _most _of the time. I went out to eat with my family the day before my Dad left."

The gossip mongrel kept goading with that ridiculous smirk, "Yeah? She said you were at the gas station when Arthur came up."

No, please no-

"And you two kissed!"

The other girl inhaled, a short warning before she squealed and kicked her legs on the floor. Some of the other students turned their heads to give her judging looks. Alfred put a palm to his forehead with a groan.

"Ohmygosh! Are you serious?!" She didn't wait for the other girl to confirm it, "You two _kissed_?! No way! Who kissed who? Was he a good kisser?!"

"What?" Alfred wheezed. "That's stupid. Come on, guys."

His bro-friend didn't seem as joyous to hear all of this. "You're kissing on guys now?"

"No!"

The gossiper, "But I know someone who saw it!"

The gas station's cashier. Damn it. She was probably glued to the wide, open windows the whole time Alfred and Arthur argued about demon where-abouts. Freaking small towns, where everybody knows anybody. Alfred might actually be sick this time.

"Alfie?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"But-"

"Nuh-uh!" Alfred swung his head side-to-side, keeping his eyes glued to his untouched homework. "Don't want to talk about it."

"Okay..." His friends murmured, passing weird looks between one another, but went back to their own devices and conversations.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

When lunch _finally _rolled around, Alfred practically flew down the hall for food. Food didn't judge. Food didn't talk in the first place. Ah, but of course people got in his way, forming walls and walking super slow, as if they weren't as eager at the thought of eating. Talking to their buddies they see everyday was more important. He weaved side-to-side, staring at their backs in deep disappointment. These were a bunch of girls; he couldn't shove them away, anyway.

A hand clamped on his shoulder, and yammered in his ear, "Yo! Al! You completely power-housed down the hall!"

Alfred shot a friend a quick smile, "I'm hungry, dude!"

"Yeah, same. Damn chicks. Hey, sit with us today. We missed you."

"I was going to sit with Mattie-"

"Jeez, don't you see him enough at home?" His buddy elbowed him, "Kidding. I get it. When my sis gets here next year, she's sitting with me, not with any of these wacky people."

Alfred thought of Basch and Erika. He didn't laugh. He kind of wanted to, but now a few seconds passed and it was too late. "Oh."

"So...uh, you and that Arthur guy?"

"Come on. The girls already raked me for that earlier."

"I know, I know! It's just..." Alfred kept his eyes forward so he didn't see the look on his friend's face. "It's...isn't he a teacher here?"

"A volunteer. Why?"

"Oh. A volunteer. Yeah. So, he's our age, or..."

"A little older." More than Mister-I-Oogle-At-The-Sexy-Track-Teacher would ever know. "Why are you hyped up on that?"

"I don't know. Just be careful, man. I don't..." His friend's face soured, "I don't know. Something's...he just unsettles me, you know? Like...he _watches _everyone..."

Maybe his friend should try having a chat with Ivan, then. "Maybe it's the eyebrows," Alfred tried.

His pal punched his arm. "Ha-ha, maybe! I'll see you later, Al."

"Uh-huh, later."

"Alfie!" Some of the girls waved from a table nearby, goading him to sit with them, but he never did...unless Mattie wasn't there. However, Matthew was already at their table, hunched over food he wouldn't eat, so Alfred waved back and kept walking.

Dang, a lot of people clamored for his attention, and yet he couldn't get it from the one he wanted. He had to laugh at the cruelty.

Matthew glanced up, looking surprised as Alfred plunked his own tray on the table. "Hey, Al? What's up?"

Wait, Mattie was saying something. Alfred pushed his daydreams aside and grunted, "Nothing much."

"What, literally _nothing _happened from the last time I saw you? Anything from yesterday?"

Alfred shook his head.

Matthew asked, "How's Arthur doing?"

Alfred speared a carrot slice with his fork, but his insides tangled themselves into a tight ball so he couldn't eat it. "Um...he's fine."

"Yeah. Ivan slept so much after what happened. I'm sure it took out so much from everybody." A distant smile struck Matthew's face. "I'm glad that the angels didn't...they helped us."

Alfred gnashed through the coil in his stomach. "Yeah, it was awesome."

Matthew tipped his head with a little scrunch of his nose, "Oh, um, it sure was."

"Yeah."

"Did you talk to your friends?"

"Uh-huh. Lots of them."

"Did they ask why we were gone for so long?"

"Yep."

"Well, what'd they say?"

Jeez, what is this? Twenty Questions, featuring Matthew? "I told them I didn't feel good. Like what you told Dad."

Matthew leaned back on his chair with a huffy sigh. "Are you all right?"

"Dude! Yeah!"

"Okay, okay!" Awkward silence. Mattie shot forward to put an elbow on the table and a hand under his chin, speaking in a weird, spectator voice, "Something's obviously distracting you. You're only making a mess out of your food without eating it. That's very strange."

"Whoa," Alfred held his hands up, laughing at his brother's stupid face. "Now, _that's _strange."

Matthew shook his head, grinning, "Did I do good?"

"Sure, you weirdo. Just like Dad."

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me?"

It was no longer shits and giggles. "Come on!"

"Come on!"

"Bro!"

"What? Al, you've been acting...not yourself _all _day."

Alfred just shrugged, mangling his food even more because his brother pissed him off.

"Can you at least tell me _why _ you won't tell me?"

Wait, what? Sneaky. "Uh...too weird."

"Too..._weird_?" Matthew scoffed. "Sure, like you _never _told me so many weird things over the years." He wouldn't have any of it. "So, what happened?"

Alfred mashed the rest of his lunch into a heaping plop; now he definitely wasn't going to eat it.

Matthew already started to guess, "Is it weirder than that one time you ate your lasagna off the floor a few years back?"

Alfred paused his Ultimate Lunch Destruction, figuring Matthew would have gone for the gold right away. "Nah, that wasn't too weird. Lasagna takes forever to make. I didn't want to waste it."

"What about when you ran around town in your underwear and blanket tied around your neck?"

"Dude, I was four."

Matthew threw his head back, "I'm going to be guessing all period!"

Maybe he shouldn't be guessing in the first place! Alfred popped some mush in his mouth, and his stomach shuddered. Of all things, he figured his love-struck brother would have at least _a hint _of the turmoil inside of Alfred's mind. Unless he was playing stupid, but that didn't sound like him. "I...I'll tell you later."

Matthew rolled his eyes, "Al, are you-"

Alfred squawked, "I'll! Tell! You! Later!" Some of the neighboring students gawked, and he turned his face away.

"Okay, sheesh. Didn't mean to-"

"Yeah, yeah!" Alfred cheaply assured him, "I just got a lot on my plate right now." Literally. Gross mush. "First day back, you know?"

"Sure."

Well...can't let this mush go to waste, even if it was gross mush. The background noise eased Alfred's stomach, enough for him to gulp down the rest of his 'lunch.' "So what are you," he asked between bites, "going to do?"

Matthew squinted and turned an ear toward him. "Later? Not sure. I don't work. Did you want to play some games later?"

Alfred chuckled at that one. "I mean with your life! Since your demon-pal has that thing in his chest, does that mean he's going to stay here and you two are going to chill long-time at our place?"

"Um..." Matthew dug at the side of his face and pinched at the arm of his glasses for a long moment. "We did that so he could be around on the surface without the angels getting ticked off. That doesn't mean I plan on 'chilling.' I may go somewhere...warmer. If you catch my drift."

The image of Mattie and Ivan canon-balling into a vat of flame cursed Alfred's mind, like there wasn't enough running around in there. "Living a normal life doesn't sound so bad." In comparison, at least.

Matthew sighed, picking at his fingers, but obviously keeping an eye on Al's face for anything funny. "No, just...boring. You aren't the only one that doesn't want to live a normal life. A nine-to-five job. Marrying some girl. Having lots of kids. Stressing out over bills. It's not for us. Not anymore. Isn't that right?"

Alfred resisted the instinct to swallow the lump rising to his mouth. "Yeah. I hope so."


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

* * *

"Alfred."

It was finally - finally! - time to go home. Alfred made a bee-line for the front door.

"Alfred!" Someone snapped over everyone else clamoring out of the building. Alfred slowed and threw his head side-to-side. No. Not so soon. He spotted the glowing before he saw Arthur's pissy face. He propped against the wall leading to the special-ed room and made a beckoning motion. Someone bumped into Alfred's back, being stupid and not seeing his towering self _right _there. Or they were too impatient for him to move. Who cares.

Alfred held an arm out and proceeded to cut in front of everybody, marching across the hall and keeping his eyes toward the ceiling instead of their irritated faces. He stopped in front of Arthur, his back vulnerable to the flow of his classmates, and let out a timid grunt as a greeting.

"You all right?"

"Yeah."

"You're not lying, are you?"

Alfred scrunched his face, fighting a smile, "Nah, man."

"Right." Arthur probably could tell something was up. He held out a hand. "First day back, correct?"

Alfred nodded, watching his upturned palm.

With a little scoff, Arthur folded his arms together. Wait, was Alfred supposed to grab his hand? A few students shuffled out of the nearby classroom, cooing goodbyes, "Bye, Mister Arthur!"

Arthur's steely expression melted. "Goodbye, lads. Careful on the way out. It's slippery out there."

"Are you here tomorrow?"

Alfred squished against the wall beside Arthur to let them pass, and tried not to stare at their walkers and waddling. "I always am."

The special-ed kids beamed as they crept into the crowd. Arthur dutifully kept an eye on their backs. "Are they your charges, too?"

"Yes." Arthur lifted his chin and a funny smile sprouted across his face. "I hear from your friends that you like to swing by every now and again, but I never see you here. Isn't that strange?"

Alfred swiped a hand over his mouth, tensing as his eyes latched onto Arthur's. "Um, yeah."

"Yeah?"

Alfred blurted, "Did you want me to come over?"

"Why, yes, I..." Arthur trailed off, eyes going wide. He quickly righted himself with a little shrug. "I'm expecting new charges soon, and it would be wise to enjoy some time off while we still have it."

"So...is that a yes?"

"Whatever you want."

"Is that what _you _want?"

"It's fine."

Alfred curtly agreed, "Yeah, fine." He let out a long sigh as Arthur pushed off the wall with a little flounce and started for the special-ed room. "I-I think your turtleneck looks tacky!"

Arthur stopped, tossing a scowl over his shoulder, but something about it seemed like he wasn't entirely offended. "Yet you still stick around."

With that, he closed the door behind himself. Alfred asked aloud, "What's that even mean?!" He scrubbed at a cheek and shoved from the wall to push through the waning crowd again. There were several main doors open to guide them out, so he stationed himself in one of the doorways at the end, and yet people still tried to shove by him. He was busy standing there, damn it. Okay, maybe it is stupid to stand in doorways, but it was also stupid to step on people's feet, too, and his schoolmates did just that.

Eventually, Matthew arrived, and a smile sprung on his face as he emerged from the fleeing students. "We're out!"

Alfred stuck his elbow into his brother's side. "That bad?" He already knew the answer.

"Sitting in a chair harder than most things I would like to sit on? Yes!"

"And watching Mister Onion Butt bending over everyone's desks?"

Matthew blanched, "No thanks!"

Walking with him brought ease to Alfred. Just two bros walking down the street after a long day of school. "It's too cold! Is it Spring yet?"

"Dude, you still have a while to go yet."

"Aw, come on." Alfred was sick of numb toes and kicking snow.

"What's up? Aren't you staying at Arthur's place? Why are you walking with me?"

"Excuuuuuuse me! It's my house, too, Mattie!"

"But I thought you and Arthur-"

"What?" Alfred hunched up his shoulders, keeping his eyes forward, "It can't be just us walking back home? I thought you liked it this way."

"I do, I do! Um...huh. Yeah." Thankfully, Matthew shut up.

They planted their feet on the front porch, announcing to their home that they were finally there. Tiring, to go up those two little steps, but relieving at the same time. The house was quiet, and Alfred strained to hear anything else besides his brother plopping his book bag on the floor and letting out a weary groan.

Alfred tried something funny, singing up the stairs in a high voice, "Yoohoo!"

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"Seeing how fast-"

A door flew open and bounced off a wall above their heads. Heavy but fast footsteps scrambled to the stairs, bringing an aspect of terror to gaze upon them from the top step. Ivan. Alfred had to laugh at how clumsy he looked coming down from there. "See?" He said to Matthew, "I knew he'd come all crazy-"

"Oh, no!" Ivan glanced between them, "I can't tell you two apart!" Before the twins could dissent, he threw his arms out and caught them to his chest. "It looks like I'll have to take you both!"

Alfred vehemently wreathed against Ivan's warm body, "Ugh! No!"

Of course Matthew was delighted and clamped his arms around both of their backs, pinning Alfred closer to the cluster. "Ivan!"

"I missed you, Matthew. It was too lonely and cold without you. I am very glad you're finally here."

Alfred rolled his eyes as Matthew giggled, "Me too. Missed you."

"You're such a sap."

"What?" Ivan started to rub Alfred's shoulder blade, "You want some love, too, Alfredo? There's plenty to go around!"

"Ew! Not from a demon!" Alfred ducked and shoved away from the party. "You'd bite my legs when I'm sleeping!"

Ivan held out an arm to the now empty space against his one side, "My midnight snack doesn't like me anymore."

Matthew stood on his toes to kiss his cheek, "More for me then!"

Alfred shook his head, giving his arms an offended rub. He almost snorted as Ivan clutched his brother closer and nestled their cheeks together, but clamped up when ideas popped up in his head regarding someone across town. "Guys..." He goaded them to break apart, "I'm hungry. Mattie, you should make something to eat."

"Seriously?" Matthew turned his head, looking pissy. "Go make something yourself, then!"

"Aw, but it's always better when you make it!" Alfred insisted with a big pout, "Brother's love!"

Ivan snickered against the top of Matthew's head as he rolled his eyes. "You're so gay, Al. Fine." He pulled away. Victory. "What do you want?"

"Yeah!" Alfred pumped a fist into the air, cutting Ivan off while on the way to the kitchen. "Grilled cheese!"

"Grilled cheese? For real?"

"Come on! Grilled cheese!"

Repetition worked, and with a big sigh, Matthew started to dig around for bread and pans. Alfred made himself back at home at the island counter, facing the stove to he could survey the works of art in the making. Then, Ivan came to hover against Matthew's back, getting in the way and probably on purpose, too.

"You grill cheese?"

"Yes, honey."

Honey. Ick.

"But cheese is already good when it has not been...this grilled."

"Well, it only gets better from there."

"Oh, wow..."

Matthew quickly shooed the big lug away, as he was disturbing the precious sandwich making-process. Ivan crept around the counter, smiling like he knew a secret, but his eyes held an odd glint that made Alfred's skin itch. Of course he had to sit next to Alfred. Bad enough that he put on a romantic real-life soap opera in front of him, but he also had the audacity to sit literally in the next stool over when there were two other seats, and two more behind the other counter? In Alfred's own house?

Alfred made sure to give the fiend a sourpuss scowl, and Ivan knew exactly what he was doing. He swore he heard a giggle from his occupied side, but drowned it out by pounding his fists on the table, "Grilled cheese! Grilled cheese!" Matthew slipped two sandwiches on a plate. "Grilled cheese! Come on! Come on, over here!"

"No shit," Matthew said, giving Alfred the first plate. "I was going to give it to the trash can."

"No! Over here!" Alfred shoved one of the sandwiches into his face.

Matthew tossed his eyes around and went back to the stove. Ivan watched Alfred finish off his first sandwich, pretending to be patient, but he probably was seething with hunger. "How was your school?"

Uh-huh. Distracting the feeling of his demon-stomach clawing its way into the world. "I don't usually say this, but it was awful, dude. You're so lucky demons don't have to go there."

Ivan curled his nose. "Yes. Lucky." Surely Hell was better than homework and nasty lunch ladies? "What about your day, Matthew?"

"Long and boring."

"Really?" This seemed to really interest Ivan. "You are not at school anymore. We should do something that is...not as long or boring."

Alfred furrowed his eyebrows from his brother's giggling, "Oh? What were you planning?"

"Watching those kittens and puppies on the screen."

"That sounds like a wonderful plan." Matthew glanced over his shoulder, grinning at Alfred. "After dinner."

"Of course."

Alfred glimpsed between the both of them. "What?" Nobody said anything else. It had to be some secret couple humor he didn't unlock yet. Matthew set a plate in front of Ivan before going to make his own. When Mattie said this guy eats anything set before him, he was right.

Ivan seemed so chill just sitting there on the itty kitchen stool, munching on his grilled cheese and watching Matthew's back. Alfred remembered the black smoke swirling around his broad form in the middle of the night. No fireballs rained onto Earth. No babies were eaten. It was just...normal now.

Alfred liked it far better when Ivan squished him into a ginormous hug, rather than him pouring fire from the sky. He probably couldn't do that, but after the things he saw, Al learned not to completely doubt things anymore. He set down his second sandwich, getting ballsy enough to ask, "Since demons don't go to school, what to they do? Do you have demon-jobs like community service, or whipping bad people for all eternity?"

Ivan turned toward Alfred with a warm smile, "We switch every five hours after a pitchfork poking session, and when the weak ones do not make it, we must toss the bodies into pits of lava."

"Huh?!" Alfred squeaked. "Mattie, I thought you said they don't-"

Matthew tipped his head back and bemoaned, "They don't!"

Ivan wiggled side-to-side, nagging, "I was pulling legs again! If all the sinners went to Hell after they died, it would get really crowded!"

Alfred's shoulders eased. "Oh." That made sense. "So, if somebody was really, really, _really _bad, like, so bad that the angels don't want them, what happens?"

"Oh, no, Alfredo, I do not know. Maybe you should ask an angel if they have a reject pile!"

Alfred shook his head as Matthew gave them a waggle of his spatula, "Be nice."

"Why do you worry so much?" Ivan prodded. Alfred didn't respond, flipping and unflipping his sandwich around his plate, so he leaned closer, "Unless you have done something so awful that you believe there is no way out through repentance?"

"What?" Alfred said, "Fuck off! I didn't do anything. I was just curious."

"Oh." Ivan leaned back, minding his personal space for once.

"Alfred," Matthew snapped, "What did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything! I said I was just curious! It isn't everyday I get to talk to a demon and get to know these kinds of things without selling my soul!"

"Why would you sell your soul in the first place?" Ivan asked. "I could always just take it as is."

"No." At first, Alfred thought Matthew was finally talking sense, but he said, "Let people sell their souls, and not only would you get their soul, but anything they offered to sell."

Ivan gasped, "Matthew! You are very smart!"

"Thank you."

Soon after, Matthew put his plate on the table, but stayed standing to grimace at Alfred. Alfred asked, "What?"

"You've been acting funny all day. We're going to talk."

"What? _Now_?" Alfred's eyes flickered to Ivan.

At least Matthew was so very kind enough to offer, "No. After dinner."

Ivan said, "I thought we were going to watch the puppies and kitties show after dinner."

"Yes! After we talk."

Alfred stuck his tongue out at Ivan, but the dumb creature just looked like he lost his mind. Maybe he did.

As soon as the rest of his food was down his gullet, Alfred hardly had time to put his plate in the sink before his brother tugged on his shoulder. "Come on."

"Wha...?"

"Excuse us, Ivan, we're going to need a private moment."

"We do?" Alfred echoed.

"Upstairs!"

Matthew was already going.

Alfred kicked the floor with an irritated grunt before lagging behind.

"Bye-bye, Mister Alfredo!"

Alfred paused at the foot of the stairs, squeezing his eyes shut and pretending this wasn't happening. "Be quiet, demon." He launched himself after his brother. "Can we go to my room? Please?"

"Oh, um, yeah! Sure." Matthew quietly shut the door behind himself. No escape. Alfred trudged to his bed like it was the executioner's chair and plopped on its soft confines with a big sigh. "What's going on?"

Jeez, Mattie didn't waste any time. Alfred kept his eyes on the faint pencil scribbles on the ceiling. "School was sucky. Like I said it would be."

"Come on, Al! That's _not _what this is about." Matthew scoffed without reply. "Did you fight with Arthur again?"

"Why's everything have to be about Arthur?"

"Then, what is it?"

Alfred gripped the edge of his bed covers before yanking it closer. "N-no, we didn't get into a fight."

"Okay, so..."

"So what?"

"This _is _about Arthur, isn't it?"

"I didn't say that."

"Well, it's written all over your face, you ass!"

Alfred pulled his blanket over himself to hide from Matthew's relentless glaring. "Quit staring at my face, then!"

"Aha!" Footsteps came closer. "So, what happened between you and _Artie_?"

"Ugh, shut up."

Matthew picked at the blanket. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened!"

"Something obviously did."

Alfred popped his head out when it became too hard to breathe. "That's the thing, Matthew! _Nothing _happened!"

"But you..." Matthew's expression shifted to what Alfred hoped meant gears were turning. "Oh, Al, but did you...did you want something to happen?"

Alfred grumbled and pressed into the blanket again.

"You know you can talk to me about it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Matthew said gently. His voice sharpened, "But you're going to say you like him, first!"

"Shut up!"

"Someone's got The Feelings! Come on, say it!"

"Nooo!"

Matthew sighed, "Well, fine, don't do anything."

Alfred peeked out of his protective blanket to see his brother sitting back on the bed with his arms crossed. "What do I do, Mattie?!"

"You have to admit it, first!"

"Is that how you and Ivan-"

"Yep! So say it!"

"No way!" Alfred shoved Matthew's shoulder before retreating back into his covers. "You just want me to say it!"

"The first step to confessing your love, is to admit it to yourself, first."

"Oh, shut up, Dad."

"Okay. That's it." Matthew smacked his hands against his lap, making Alfred flinch. "I'm coming for the ears!"

"Huh?" Alfred swatted at his brother's outstretched hand making its way under the blanket, but the other snuck up on him. "No!" He wreathed, trying to bring the covers closer to himself, "Leave my ears alone!"

"Ha-ha, what a sad attempt to protect yourself!" Matthew pinned Alfred down and fingers invaded all sides of the failing cover. "Come on, you can do better than that!"

Alfred wiggled more, trying to flee, but that was sort of hard with Matthew's entire weight practically on top of him. A hand latched onto one of his ears. "Eek! No!"

"Got one!"

Alfred's glasses made their escape amongst the blanket-coated panic, and he tried to blindly smack at his brother, but his arm was pinned! "Ow! Quit it!"

That only made Matthew pull harder. "I'll quit it once you say you like Arthur!"

"You suck!"

"No, you suck!"

"Ow, ow! No!"

"Come on, now, Alfred!" Matthew was too delighted as he groped for Alfred's other ear. "You know what to say! Or do I have to take them both? What would Dad say when he sees you walking around with no ears? How would you wear your glasses?!"

Alfred smacked the mattress, as that was the only thing he could get his hands on, before trying to grasp Matthew's fingers to pry them away. "Mercy!"

Those fingers gripped even tighter from his feeble attempts. Alfred's ears were done for. They were really going to come off this time. "You know what would bring mercy!"

Alfred's eyes stung as he squeezed them shut. "Okay, okay!"

The yanking finally stopped, but Matthew still kept a firm hold on those poor, mangled ears. "Okay, what?"

Alfred groaned, scrunching up his face. He knew if he didn't say it, his ears would suffer even more. They suffered enough. He pressed his face into his bed and mumbled, "I think I like him."

"What was that?"

A deaf man could hear the shit-eating grin on Matthew's face. Alfred didn't even have to see it. He picked up his head and seethed, "I. Think. I. Like. Him. Okay?"

"Like who?"

"Mattie!" Alfred whined, prying his brother's fingers away. "Quit it. You know who."

"Ugh, fine." Matthew finally rolled off of him. "So?"

Alfred busted free of the blanket, letting fresh air hit his face as he gently rubbed his abused ears. He thought Matthew was nice. His whole life was a lie. Matthew tortured the poor, beaten down and laughed from the sheer joy it brought him. "So what?!"

There he still goes, with that smarmy grin, "What are you doing to do about it?"

"Are you kidding? I'm not doing anything about it!"

"What?" Matthew smacked the mattress. Alfred cupped his hands over his ears. "Are you stupid or something?!"

"Why are you calling me stupid?!"

"Because you're just going to wallow in your feelings? You should tell him, dumbass."

"If I just walked into his place and told him all of that, he would smite me!"

"And why would he do that?"

Alfred sputtered, pulling his blankets closer again. "Because I got Feelings, and he probably doesn't."

"Really? Usually you're so optimistic. Why say stuff like that now?"

"He's an angel, man! He's probably got a bunch of other stuff to worry about other than...you know."

"Letting you touch his butt."

"Yeah, like letting me touch his butt."

Matthew stared at Alfred for a moment before offering, "Well, what if he does like you?"

Alfred's cheeks flared red. "Ugh, that doesn't help!"

"Why not?"

"'cause!" Alfred scrubbed at his face, struggling, "He, like. You know. When we first met, he zapped our brains or something, to make us forget what he is. He said I shouldn't be around him, but I kept pushing, and now he lets me stay, but sometimes I feel like I'm a giant nuisance, and if I tell him that I'm...you know...it's just so...cliché! Like, wow! I got the Big Feelings for an angel now? Who knew that would happen!" He smacked his forehead a couple of times. "Ugh!"

"Yet you stick around."

"Uh, yeah, it's because I like him!"

"Yeah, but I think there's something else. Something else like...I don't think he's _letting _you stay. I think he _wants _you to stay."

"What? Really? _You _think so? He dunked you in a freaking pond in the middle of winter."

"Al, he dunked me in that pond when he thought a demon was controlling my mind. Sometimes what he does and how he feels are two _greatly _different things. Maybe he acts that way so people don't hurt him."

"He told me that people don't need to know what he is, and what he does, so they don't interfere."

Matthew held up a finger, "And yet, here you are. He let you stay. You know why? I think he likes you back."

Alfred clamped his hands over his face and kicked his legs. "Mattie, no!"

"Um, Alfred, yes! See, you'd like that, huh? You're smiling!"

Alfred tossed the covers back over his head. "Oh, my God, shut up!"

"Hey!" Matthew tore it away like a savage. "If you're just going to let yourself suffer like this, then either stop hanging out with him, or man up and tell him you have The Feelings!"

"But..." Alfred clamped up from the evil glower on Matthew's face. His ears were in danger again. "It's going to make things weird between us either way."

"What did I just say? Why complain to me if you're not going to listen?!" Matthew jumped from the bed and spun around to grab Alfred's arm. "Sitting here isn't going to do anything. It didn't do anything before, and it's not going to do anything now."

"Mattie!" Alfred dissented being pulled from his soft haven of a bed. "No."

"Yes!" Matthew yanked harder, taking Alfred and his arm socket by surprise. "Get your lard butt off the bed!"

"Whoa!" Alfred made sure to plant his feet on the floor before he would kiss the carpet.

"Good! Let's go!"

Alfred glanced back to his bed.

Matthew grabbed his arm again and towed him to the door. "You're going to go to that motel and have a nice, long talk with Arthur."

"What!" Alfred struggled, "No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are!"

Alfred latched onto the doorway, refusing to budge. "Fuck off!"

Matthew squeezed behind him and shoved his back, hollering, "You fuck off!" He kicked the back of Alfred's knee, and Alfred yelped as his leg buckled. "Ass!"

"Savage!" Alfred jumped backwards, toppling his weight onto Matthew, and made his escape while he was stunned. He really should have ran down the stairs, but in his panic, he darted further down the hall instead. There was a window at the very end, but that would be a two-story drop. Bathroom. The little window by the toilet looked over the roof over the rear door; easier and less ankle-breaking to get away from Matthew.

Alfred threw himself at the bathroom door, but then forceful hands grabbed at his jacket. He lunged forward, tripped over Matthew's feet, and they both crumpled to the floor. "Hey, hey!"

"Damn it!" Matthew planted his knee onto Alfred's back, ignoring his yelp of pain. "Ivan! Ivan, I need your help! Get up here!"

Alfred thrashed, heaving Matthew into the door frame and cackled, "You have to call reinforcements because you can't handle me!" He scrambled to his feet, but Matthew latched onto his belt loop, and down went his jeans. They were a hindrance, anyway. Alfred kicked them away and spun around to shove the bathroom door shut, right in his brother's face.

Matthew leaped to his feet and shoved himself to the other side of the door to keep it open. "Oh, you asshole!"

"Quit pushing, man!"

"You quit it! If you're not going to get out of here on your own," there goes that taste of evil flashing in Matthew's eyes again, "I'll make you!"

Alfred slipped on the bath mat as he gave the door all he got. Holy crap, when did Mattie get so buff?! "Yeah, right!" He spat, growing hot under exertion as the door wobbled back and forth. "You can barely keep this door open!"

The door snapped right into Alfred, and his arms flailed, trying to catch onto something. He grabbed cloth, and crap, it was Ivan's sweater. Matthew called out, "Get him! We're taking him outside!"

Alfred pushed Ivan away. "No way!"

Ivan hooked a thick arm around Alfred's neck and pressed closer, on his throat! Matthew's shitty grin flashed in front of his face before the beef brigade forced him forward. His arms reached for his brother, then picked at the arm around his neck. "You're fucking strangling me!"

"You're not wearing any pants," Ivan pointed out. Then, the pressure was gone. Alfred took a deep breath, but before he could do anything else, Ivan wound his arms around his waist and plucked him from the floor like he weighed nothing.

"Gah! No! Stop manhandling me!" Alfred latched onto the stair railing as Ivan towed him down the steps, but of course his precious brother was there to pry his fingers away. "You fucker! Traitor!" He managed to grasp the banister again, but Ivan ripped him away.

When Alfred tried to flail, kick him in the shins, anything really, the big lug giggled against his back. Light hit their faces - the front door was open, courtesy of Matthew. No escape. Maybe the living room...the doorway was right there! Alfred reached in the direction of the couch, but he turned toward the outside world thanks to his prisoners.

His feet hit the porch planks, and Ivan planted a big hand onto Alfred's back, sending him reeling outside. Alfred spun around, shouting, "Hey!" Denim flew into his face, and the door slammed shut. The lock clicked as his jeans fell into his arms. No turning back.

Alfred sputtered and shook his pants at the door, "Matthew! You are _awful!_ If Arthur rips me a new one, I'm blaming you!" He shoved his bottoms back into place, pink and breathless from being strangled by that psycho macho-man and his accomplice. And damn it, his glasses were still upstairs on his bed!

"Fuck's sake!" Alfred spat and gave his jacket a yank, eying the neighbor's houses in case they witnessed that moment of un-finery, but as far as he could tell, which wasn't really far, nobody was peeking out of their windows. He shrugged and bounded off the porch, down the sidewalk, and to the motel.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

* * *

"'Hey, I think Heaven lost one of it's-' wait, no. I can't say that. He's an actual angel. That'd be stupid!"

"Okay, wait, I'm thinking. 'I want to be an astronaut, so I can discover the stars in your eyes.' Yeah, space is cool. That doesn't sound too bad."

"Ooh, better yet, 'You must be related to Medusa, 'cause you make me-'" Alfred smacked his face a couple of times. "No, no! Too spicy! Argh!"

Lights flickered from the distant gas station. Wait, food! Everyone loves snacks! Even angels. Angels like Doritos, right? Wait, Alfred forgot his wallet at home, or more like, couldn't get a chance to grab it.

Crap. He was already at the motel. "Deep breaths, my dude," Alfred babbled to himself in a totally sane manner. "You can do this. This is nothing!" That certain motel door could lunge at him like something wicked in a horror movie. One step. Another step. The asphalt crunched beneath his sneakers. Quiet up the porch, to not disturb anything. Yes, there was nothing to freak out about...

Arthur's door cracked open.

Alfred screamed, "Fucking ghosts!"

No, just an angel. "What in the world?"

"Arthur?! What are you doing?!"

"I...live here?"

"Right, yeah!" Alfred laughed too loudly. "Where you on your way out or..."

Arthur's eyes dropped down to Alfred's hands running up and down his jacket like there were fleas all over it. "No? I sensed a strong presence close by."

"Oh!" Alfred forced his hands into his pockets. Arthur thought of him as strong? "Great. Can I come inside?" He asked, already pushing by. "Thanks!"

"Well then." The door shut to the point of no return. Alfred glanced around the same old motel room, too empty and too tidy for a normal person to live there. If he said something stupid, he may never see it again. Never to spread out on Arthur's bed. Never to breathe in the odd yet comforting scent-

Light hands ran up his arms and gently squeezed his shoulders. Good Feelings shot through his jacket and pricked his skin. It was just Arthur. Nobody or nothing else. Just Arthur.

"Let me take your jacket."

Alfred shrugged it off, and tried to keep his voice low so it wouldn't try anything, "How are you?" He glanced down, and dang it, Artie still wore that tacky green turtleneck. Panic started to creep back. "Did you come home only a little bit ago?"

"Are you cold? You're shaking. And yes, I haven't gotten a chance to settle down quite yet."

"Y-yeah." Alfred jumped on the chance to chicken out, "Did you want me to come back some other time? I'll-"

"No!" Arthur scoffed and tossed Alfred's jacket over one of the dining chairs. "Don't be daft. Sit down and relax. I'll put the kettle on."

It was a little hard to relax right now. "Um, actually, Arthur, I was thinking we should go out!"

Arthur turned from the stove, obviously taken back. "Really? Where would we go? There's that little café just down the road, but..." He shook his head and waved a hand in the air. "Never mind that. Let's just stay inside and save our money."

Alfred collapsed onto the couch with his head in his hands.

"Unless you really wanted something from there. I-I'm not going to force you to stay here-"

"No, it's all right, Arthur. Just make your damn tea."

"_Hmph! _Little brat."

Alfred found himself smiling and wanting to cry at the same time. Eventually, a warm cup pressed against his forehead, and he didn't react until it got too hot for his skin. "Thanks," he mumbled and immediately set the cup on the TV stand as Arthur settled beside him. They sat in silence. It was amazing. Kidding.

"Your spirit's on a rampage." Arthur finally said. "What's got you troubled?"

Alfred stared at the carpet with haunted eyes. "I think I'm super gay."

"That's...well, it's wonderful that you're coming to terms with yourself."

"No, Arthur!" Alfred swiped a hand across his face and clamped it onto Arthur's leg, feeling absolutely stupid as his voice grew quick, "It's for you, man! I'm like, super gay for you!"

"Ah." Arthur quickly glanced away from everything, to an uninteresting wall across the room. Quietly, "I know."

Much less quietly, "You _know_?!"

"Well...usually, if you let another man embrace you from behind, and blush like crazy when he complements your eyes..." Arthur turned his head in Alfred's direction - not exactly looking at him, but still bewildered none the less, "Then, yes, it's rather obvious that you may have...homosexual tendencies."

"Oh." Alfred managed. "Um...so...uh..."

Fuck.

Panic coming in three, two...one?

"I'm sorry." Arthur said.

"You're sorry," Alfred echoed.

"Yes. That is to be expected. A lot of humans over the years have revoked what they believed to be their sexuality to favor an angel. Hell, some even break off their _marriages_."

As Alfred just stared like a dumbass, Arthur continued, "Our presence often delivers euphoria to the senses, and is mistaken for infatuation, or say...desire." He lifted a hand to touch Alfred's forearm, and Good Feelings spread up to his shoulder. "That's just one of many ways we affect you, with our touch."

Cool, a scientific explanation.

Arthur let go and folded his arm back under his other one. Goose bumps popped up over Alfred's skin, and he rubbed at them to get them to go away.

Fuck scientific explanations.

Alfred let out a fake laugh, "What, is that like, a bad thing?"

Arthur wouldn't look him in the eye. "Not at all, when it helps us do what we have to do."

"Other times? It's bad?"

"Hm, not necessarily, but..."

"And you're sorry why?"

Arthur shifted like he suddenly had to pee. "I've brainwashed you."

"What?" Beat. Alfred busted into laughter for real. "I'm not brainwashed!"

A scoff, "Yes, you are! I just showed you!"

"Why, 'cause you touched my arm, and ooh, Good Feelings?"

Arthur just angrily shook his head.

"I'm not fucking brainwashed, Arthur. Brainwashed people don't even know they're brainwashed, so now that I know, I'm definitely not brainwashed."

"That's stupid."

Alfred smacked the couch, "You saying I'm brainwashed all of a sudden is stupid!"

"Well, you're certainly being influenced!"

"Are you doing it on purpose?"

"No!"

"Did you want to brainwash me?"

"I have no need for that!"

"Then what?!"

Arthur gawked at him, finally, although bewildered. "What?"

"So I am really a person-burger!"

"Ugh! This again?!"

"You brainwashin' me so you can take a bite whenever your angel-glowing needs a recharge?"

Arthur slammed his mug on the TV stand to grab the sides of his head. He then whipped around, glaring at Alfred, "Fine. Yes. There. You have it. Congratulations, you utter fool. I have squeezed and mangled you until your last drop just for easy energy."

"Pssh!" Alfred slung an arm along the back of the couch and relaxed. "And you said angels weren't supposed to lie."

"It's true! We _do _get a great deal of power from humans! The things you were asking before, well, they're true!"

"I know."

"What?!"

"Mattie told me. Ivan told him." Alfred shrugged. "It's a circle. Angels nurture us, make us feel good, they feel good, and in the end, they take our super-feel-good souls up to make Heaven feel good or whatever and keep going. Yeah. Whatever."

Arthur flabbergasted, "It's not just whatever, Alfred!"

"You're right. It's not. You totally enjoyed that kiss at the gas station more than you let up."

"W-what does that have to do-"

"I just told you I'm totally gay for you, man, and _that's _what you got to say. That I'm brainwashed, trying to pass this off like typical angel-shenanigans, while avoiding telling me whether or not you feel the same way. It's so _you,_ Arthur."

Arthur angrily gave his head a shake. "Shut up, idiot."

Alfred didn't, "If I'm under some kind of angel-glowy head game, then I'm totally okay with that. I get to help people feel better like you do, even if it's minutes away from their deaths." He leaned forward, shaking his hands, "I get to be with _you! _God, that's all that matters! Even if I am misguided, I want...I want to make you smile, and blush, and laugh, and do all those tacky things with you like counting the stars or something! I'm okay with it all!"

Of course the bitter pigeon kept his probably-scowl (Alfred couldn't see his face from his angle) on the faraway wall, but his nails slowly gripped the couch cushions until they protested with a little strain.

Despite his entire face feeling like he leaned in too close to an open oven door, Alfred put on a big grin. "I care about you _so _hard, man." Not that he would admit it aloud, but if he could tell the Alfred that was still making his journey to the motel what happened, he definitely and without hesitation, would. Thanks, Matthew and company, for (literally) shoving him out the door.

Arthur snipped, "You think you care?"

"I do! I really do!"

"Why?" Sourpuss, "Because I'm an _angel?_"

Alfred sort of expected that to play around. It's been playing in his brain game, too, after all. What if Arthur wasn't an angel? What if he was just some bum on the street?

Then when Ivan took Matthew to Hell, Alfred would never know where (or why) his own brother would have vanished. Clueless, without the angels. Perhaps curious to how Arthur would have ended up there, to sleeping on the bus stop bench, or under a leaky roof. Alfred knew he would totally try to help him. Community service and all. He grinned as another flush hit his cheeks.

"I-I mean, I'll admit, yeah, that's what got me curious about you in the first place..." Oh, great, now Arthur was staring. Alfred rushed, "but there's so much more to it now! So much more to _you, _and-and that's what got me a-uh," their eyes locked, and he almost forgot how to talk. "That's what got me attracted to you."

Arthur let out a little scoff, almost laughing, almost smiling, and trying really hard not to. He remarked, "Is it now?"

Alfred tried to be cool and shrug. "Yeah, Arthur. I mean, you haven't zapped my brains out ever since we met. Let me work side-by-side with you. Not to mention the _spooning. _I'm pretty sure there are so many other ways to get some angel-jazz without getting all up on me."

Arthur groaned.

That was the power running Alfred's heart. "So I'm thinking maybe...there's a little bit of a...you know." Suggestively, his eyebrows danced, "Something mutual going on around here."

A little gentler, "Maybe I should zap your brains, for you saying something stupid like that."

"Yeah, ha-ha. Maybe. Cool. So, uh...yeah. I just...I just wanted you to know all of that." Alfred nodded. Gave his leg a smack so it would stop bouncing. "You know what? If you really, _really, _like, for real! One hundred percent do _not _like me back, then just say so! Jeez. It's all right." Although, he would not be 'all right.' He leaped from the couch, forcing a chuckle, "Or if you need time to think about it, I'll leave you alone-"

A clammy hand clamped onto Alfred's wrist, making him yelp. Arthur glowered from his spot and spoke between clenched teeth, "Sit your arse down _this instant."_

Alfred's butt immediately found the couch again.

The grip on his arm let go, and a hand quickly patted the top of his head before jerking away. Much less homicidal, Arthur murmured, "It's not good manners to leave so suddenly when you haven't even tasted your tea."

"Oh, sorry," Alfred grasped his cup and brought it to his face, but his stomach wreathed, trying to bust free and out of the window. Arthur eased against the back of the couch, swinging a leg over the other once more, toning down the sudden murderous intent when Al tentatively sipped at his tea. "Uh, it's good. Like always."

"Thank you. Sit back a little, won't you? I'm not going to smite your brains all over the wall just yet."

Alfred let out a little laugh, "Oh, yet?" He slumped against the couch, squishing shoulders with Arthur as their hands greeted one another. He liked the look of it. "Thanks."

"Careful, "Arthur shifted and rolled his free arm in an odd way, "that damned creature decided it was fun to almost tear my arm from its socket." He snuck over the back of the couch, practically over Alfred's shoulders. "Ah, there. Ahem. So." Oh no. He's smiling. Like, in a bad way. Like he was up to something. "You're claiming to enjoy my company, for other reasons than me being an angel?"

Alfred tightened his grip on his cup. This kind of felt like an interview. A really, really up-close interview. "Yeah, dude."

"Hmph. I shouldn't be surprised. Even without my wings, I suppose I have this irresistible charm, don't I?"

"_Pfft._" Alfred sank his teeth into his inner cheek. "Yep."

Arthur sent him a look that was probably supposed to be menacing. "Not that I have to ask. Your face says it all."

Oh, shit.

A little more seriously, "Yeah. So don't say I'm brainwashed."

"Maybe you are. Just in a different way." When Arthur put on a timid smile, Alfred found himself copying. "My apologies. I have a lot of time under my wings. Lots of time more." His tone spiked, "I do _not _want to be dragged into something short and frivolous. It happens too often to us, and it's no better for you humans to deal with it, either."

Whatever that meant. Alfred grinned and nodded. He sure felt like a blushing idiot. "We can take it slow, man! _Real slow._"

"We'll see." Instead of reaching for his own cup, Arthur plucked Alfred's tea from his own freaking hands and downed half the thing before setting it on the TV stand. He quirked an eyebrow at Alfred staring in vague lost, and seemed pleased over it. "Now, I have-"

Alfred lurched forward, wanting nothing more to tackle his face with his mouth, but Arthur clamped a hand over his lips. "Artie," his whine muffled, "you're a bastard."

"Shame on you." That tone made Alfred get hot against cool fingers, "I was trying to say that I have a bit of work set out for myself in the meantime. After that demon business, I have yet to take a full report to my superiors, and I'm expecting to be assigned new charges soon. That means introducing myself in a completely unsuspicious way." He finally let go to tap Alfred's lower lip in some kind of trance, "Lots to do before we could even get started, don't we?"

"Uh-huh...cool."

"That means I'm going to be in Heaven for the most part, Alfred."

"Okay." Not cool. "You know how long?"

"Several weeks, perhaps?"

"Several _weeks_?" Alfred jerked away, trying to get a hold of his own thoughts and body again. "Jeez, are you like, giving a speech to everybody up there?"

Arthur grumbled, "Minus well, at this point. I haven't been home in a long while, anyway. It's 'healthy' to catch up and respite after being so far away."

"Several weeks, though? Wow." Alfred hesitated before leaning his head against Arthur's shoulder. "You going to let me go with you?"

"With me? Alfred," Arthur scoffed, "you'd die from the sheer altitude before we even get to Heaven. That's including me lugging human weight with me during the entire flight."

"Oh. Wow. Okay. Um...you know when you'll be going?"

"Soon. In a few days, perhaps?"

So soon, after everything...

Alfred flinched and giggled from the groveling in his ear, "It'd be a damn good time for you to sort yourself out and prove to me that your feelings aren't fickle at best."

"What about you? Huh?" Alfred picked up his head and grinned at Arthur's obvious mental step back. "Gonna do a lot of thinking, too?"

Getting a sturdy foothold, a sly smile eased across Arthur's face. "I believe that won't be necessary."

Bye Doubt! Bye Butterflies in the Tummy! Okay, there may still be a few fluttering around in there, but hello Potential Butt Touches! Alfred almost squealed, "Does this mean we're..._boyfriends?"_

Arthur could roll his eyes all he want - he blushed like a nun trapped in a brothel. "Yes, idiot."

"Ha-ha, yay!" Okay, maybe Alfred did squeal, "Come here!" He stuck his mouth to Arthur's cheek, kissing his face over and over again.

"All right. You...hm, Alfred. Ah. Uh-huh. That's..."

Alfred pulled away to grin, "Pretty neat, huh?"

"It's _fine_." A dramatic eye-roll, yet a sourpuss smile broke through again. "You know what's also 'neat?'"

"Uh, what?"

Arthur clasped his hands over Alfred's shoulders and squished their mouths together for a long moment, sturdy as Alfred fluttered against the contrast of warm and cool. Awesome. Tingly. Heavenly. Ha. Fireworks exploded and everything. Maybe not, but on the inside, it sure felt like they did. He pulled back in the slightest, letting a sigh ghost Alfred's lips as his eyes cracked open.

What was the color of the sky again?

It was green, wasn't it? Yes, a heavenly green...

A toothy smile slowly sprouted across Arthur's face, casting some serious magic.

"Wow." Alfred could not do anything, even if he wanted to, against fingers creeping into his hair. He was trapped now. How unfortunate...

"That _was_ pretty neat."

"Yes, I thought so, too."

Arthur trailed over his cheek, to his ear, and Alfred bit back something funny from coming out as he seethed, "I don't care what your excuse is, you break my heart, and I'll _personally _smite you to Hell. _In pieces._ Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Arthur came around again, murmuring in a much more sane manner against Alfred's mouth, "Have I told you that you're cute without your glasses?"

"That's too bad. I can't see without them." The more Alfred smiled, the less he could mack all over Arthur, but the less he could mack all over Arthur, the less he smiled. The less he smiled...the more he could mack...yadda, yadda, yadda.

Turns out, macking on dudes wasn't so bad!

A gust of cool air ran over Alfred's tongue, sending Really Good Feelings down his spine. His eyebrows scrunched together when something funny came out anyway, missing Arthur as he pulled back. Artie steadily stared for some reason. Alfred lifted a hand to pat his head. "My glasses?"

"Yes, did you forget?"

"Forget what?"

Arthur's grin only grew in strength and secrets. "You forgot something?"

"Did I?!" Why was Alfred grabbing at his own head? Was there something on there? Wait a dang minute. "Hey! You did...you did that thing!"

"What thing?"

"You...you! Urgh..." Alfred scrubbed the back of his neck, but couldn't find himself to be angry as Arthur pressed his lips to his cheek and let out a happy little sigh that made everything in the world right for a moment. "Artie, I'm glad."

"Well, I'm glad you're glad. As am I." Arthur chuckled against him, "Even if one of us _is_ brainwashed."

"It's you," Alfred said. Like he was embracing a snappy alligator, he wound his arms around Arthur's waist, and sighed happily when he didn't get bit. Finally.

Fingers rummaged through his hair and it was like, the best feeling in the world. "Hm, maybe it is." He leaned back to ask, "Did you want to watch a film?"

"I want to stay here." And keep scratching.

"Oh, and turn on the TV?" Arthur asked a bit too excitedly, and whatever that look was, he should be tossed in angel-jail for dragging Alfred into it, too. "Perhaps...pretend we're watching it?"

Cheesy-ness tumbled from Alfred's mouth, since it wasn't connected to his brain anymore, "I'd rather watch _you_, my man."

Arthur snorted, but he must have really liked that because he started kissing him all over his face, and then up to his ear, "Well, lucky for you, you're just in time for a show."

Alfred cackled, probably way too loud, "That's tacky!"

"Don't start. You were being tacky, first."

"Ha-ha, yeah, that's true. Keep the TV off..."

Secret couple humor unlocked.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

* * *

Who's got the moves? Who's the coolest guy on the block? That's right, it's Alfred. If anybody guessed someone else _other _than Alfred, well, they were wrong.

Now that he was the biggest boast in the whole town, he just had to go and give his brother the biggest bro-hug in the history of hugs. Mattie deserved that one, even if it took Alfred losing his pants and getting choke-held by a beefy demon-guy to get him to unwillingly listen. Al sauntered up those puny porch steps, threw open the door, and struck a leg out with his hand on his hip.

"Mattie! I'm home."

No reply.

Alfred scoffed and snapped the front door shut with a careless flick of the hand, and stopped in the living room doorway when he caught a head of pale hair sticking out from the arm of the couch. "Bro!"

Nope. Ivan again. He stretched himself to peek around the sofa, and hissed, "He's sleeping. Be quiet."

"You be quiet!" Alfred squawked, and ungraciously fled up the stairs.

Scratch that idea.

Alfred shoved open his bedroom door, using too much arm to whip it close behind himself, and skittered into his bed covers. He stuffed the side of his face into his pillow, grinning and giggling to nothing at all like he already lost his damn mind. Hey, at this point, he wouldn't even care. He had more than a guy could ever dream about. Surely he could go without his sanity?

Woo, man, after all those Feelings and running back and forth through town, Alfred's feet ached as they finally were put to rest. The giggling died down, but every time he tried to straighten his face, a smile snuck back on him, twenty-fold. Although, after being showered by an angel's touches and kisses, his bedroom was quiet and his bed empty...

Alfred entertained the idea of texting Arthur, to ask him if he could come over and spoon him. He didn't though, as they just got done hanging out. Would that be too weird? A part of him definitely agreed, flaming his stupid heart racing stupid fast as a stupid couple thing, but Artie was going to go away for a long while. Weeks! How awful. Al missed his cool hands sneaking up his shirt already.

He reached in his pants pocket to fish out his phone and scrolled through his messages, smiling at names, and tacking away to finally catch up to others. Besides that, he really didn't want to get out of bed to do anything else, so set his phone next to his pillow, and closed his eyes.

"Al?"

Alfred balled the blankets tighter around himself. There was a knock on the door. "Al, are you in here?"

No, he was in fantasy land.

"Hey, I'm opening the door now." Matthew whispered-yelled, "You're sleeping _already_?"

A long stretch of silence. "Or are you ignoring me?"

Alfred grinned without picking up his head or saying anything.

"Okay...I'll be downstairs if you want to talk."

The door quickly shut afterwards, followed by Matthew thumping down the steps.

Alfred said, "You're so lame, dude."

He _always _pulled the fake-sleeping trick, even on Dad, and Mattie totally fell for it _again._ Alfred had to go downstairs and rub _two _things in his face now. He fought with the blankets, and they didn't want him to go. A pretty convincing argument. He blinked against his pillow, debating if it really was worth stepping out into the cold world.

It'd be worth it to bug Mattie for a moment or two. Besides, he probably wasn't doing anything important besides making out with demons. With a big heave, Alfred threw his blankets back and planted his feet on his carpet. Ew, ew, cold air, yuck. He ran down the hall on his tiptoes; the faster he went, the less time the cold had to get him. He grabbed the stair banister and swung a leg over it to slide down like he was ten years old again.

Alfred froze before he popped into the living room doorway, catching Ivan rambling about something, "...I still want to do so much with you, my inquisitive one." Oh, yuck, they were cooing at one another. "My words get jumbled sometimes, but you understand what I mean, yes?"

What are they, philosophers? Lame. Alfred propped himself against the doorframe with an arm stretched to the ceiling and the other hand on his waist, appearing the opposite of lame.

"Of course," Matthew eagerly (but figuratively) kissed the demon's butt. "Have you always been this cute?"

"Ha-ha! Of course!"

Alfred smacked the door frame a couple of times, and they broke apart so fast, it wouldn't be surprising if they cracked something. "Can I talk to you?" Alfred's eyebrows trembled from the effort it took not to laugh. "Unless you're too busy."

Mattie's tone grew irritated, "Are you? I thought Arthur tore you a new ass and you were recuperating."

"What!" Alfred cackled real obnoxiously. "Come on, dude! I'll be in my room when you're done being gay."

"You-" Matthew couldn't even say anything coherent as Alfred flew up the stairs.

He made sure to spread his blankets out neatly, and gently set himself on top of everything before propping an elbow to the side of his head so he looked super casual when his brother finally decided to pop in his room. Mattie slowly opened the door and squeezed his face in, wide eyes gawking at Al, like he was expecting some kind of monster instead.

Alfred nodded, trying to not squeal or dance or piss his pants like the girls at school seemed to enjoy doing. "'sup?"

Matthew balked, "You...you talked to Arthur, right?!"

"Nah, I went to the convenience store and grabbed a bag of cheesy poofs."

"Seriously?"

Mm, cheesy poofs. Alfred chuckled, "If you could only see your face! Aw man, I really should have. I'm kind of hungry now." Matthew kept staring with no more hope to give, so Al rolled his eyes to a blank spot on his wall. "Yeah, I talked to him."

"And?!" Yes! Matthew hovered closer. "What happened?"

Alfred rubbed the back of his neck, keeping quiet until his brother fell into the trap of his bed. He tackled Matthew in a great big hug, and an excited squawk came out of his throat, "I totally got him, man!"

"Huh, wha...?! You did?!" Matthew started to smack his back, laughing, too. "Al, that's great! What happened? What'd you say to him?"

"Uh, stuff!"

"Wow, really?!"

"Yeah!" Alfred let go to smack his hands to the sides of his face, getting pink again. "Details aren't that important, but I told him I dig him, and he was trying super hard to be serious, but he was getting embarrassed, and then I was getting more embarrassed-!"

"About what, Al? What'd you say to him? And what'd he say to you?! Come on!"

"Ugh! Stuff, Mattie! I laid down some tender words, and he totally dug it, even if he tried to act like he didn't, and...yeah! We're kind of...a thing."

Matthew pulled a sour face. "Kind of?"

"Yeah, you know, kind of." Apparently, Mattie didn't know. Alfred sighed, "We're going to wait. Take it slow. He's got a lot of stuff to do and catch up on after all that...demon stuff, so he's going to be away for a while."

"Oh, that's weird."

"Yep, weird." Alfred elbowed his brother, "Guess I got a lot of thinking to do in the meantime, huh?"

"You thinking? About what?"

"Artie was worried about people being 'misguided' or something when it came to wanting to shack up with angels, 'cause all their pretty glowing, or...whatever. Plus it's like, weird for them to shack up with _us._"

"Because we're people-burgers?"

"Yep. Because we're people-burgers." Alfred shrugged. "So, he wants us to both sit on it. See if I'm being legit with my heart. See if I'd hook up with somebody else." And get dismembered. He gulped. "Wasn't planning on it, so..."

Matthew, of course, decided to take the pessimistic road, "What if you do? What if it's really mind-glowy magic on your brain and you snap out of it?"

"But I really like him!"

"You say that now, before the magic wears off."

Alfred opened his mouth, but nothing coherent came out. "I mean, yeah, but...yeah. That's probably what he's trying to get at. I guess."

Matthew offered cheap reassurance by patting his shoulder. It felt nice. "Hey, if that's the case, maybe it'll be something we'll all laugh about several years from now. You could still hang around together, right?"

"That's what he said." Alfred scrunched his nose at how warm his cheeks felt. "I really, really hope that's not the case, though."

Matthew giggled, and no good could come out of it. "Why? Because you _like _him?"

"Ugh, yes, Mattie! It's because I like him!" Alfred picked up his head to give his brother a serious stare-down, but they both lost.

"Hey," Matthew offered, "I don't think anybody could ever say it's easy to get with an angel. So, kudos to you."

Alfred smiled at his blankets. "Thanks, man. After everything, we're still here. We're still bros." He slung an arm behind Matthew's back. "Love you, man."

"Whoa, whoa!" Matthew, despite holding his hands up, leaned into the hug, "Look at you, you sap! What'd that angel do to you?!"

"Argh! Shut up!" There goes Alfred trying to be a tender brother. "Dad's probably been whispering love poems in my ear while I'm sleeping!"

"You can't use that excuse! Dad's been in England for almost two weeks!"

Alfred elbowed a good spot in Matthew's ribs. "Then it must have been you! Suddenly you're a love guru 'cause you touch demon butt!"

"Maybe I am!" Matthew shoved him back, "Or I listen to Dad when he goes on those love rants. Unlike you!"

Alfred giggled, guilty, "Oh, Dad...maybe I should have. Although...I did manage to get some _without _Dad getting all up my business. Score!"

"You're such a dork. Angel-butt-toucher."

"Hey, don't knock it until you try it."

"No thanks. That guy tried to drown me. I don't want to go anywhere near his butt." Matthew wagged his head side to side. "Ugh! Why are we talking about Arthur's butt?!"

"You started it!"

"No, that was you!"

"I said nothing about touching his butt. You just put that into our conversation."

Matthew reached for his ears with murderous intent. "Liar!"

Alfred automatically clamped his hands on his ears as he leaned away. "No! Not again!"

"You ass!" Matthew smacked the back of Alfred's head instead and decided to prop himself against his back, using him as a pillow, but at least his ears were spared...this time. "I miss just hanging out and talking for hours."

Alfred asked over his shoulder, "Remember when we used to have sleepovers?"

"And we got Dad to make us tea and croissants for whoever was the 'guest?'"

They both shook with laughter. "Dude."

"Dude."

"It's going to be different now, though. If you're going to go to Hell..." Alfred trailed off, almost smiling at the literal figure of speech. "I'm not going to live with Dad forever. Who knows where Artie and I are going to go. Where's that leave us?"

"I don't know, Al..."

Alfred offered, "As long as we're happy, right?"

"Oh, my God," Matthew hollered, "To think I have been living with a closeted sap the whole time!"

"Hey! Quit calling me a sap!"

"Too bad! You sap!"

Alfred twisted around to smack Matthew, but he expertly rolled away in time. "You jerk!"

Matthew suddenly sat up with a big gasp, "Al!"

Alfred pulled himself up, too, looking around his room in alarm. "What?!" Nobody was in there. "What?"

"You're a sap!"

"Ugh! Fuck off already!"

Matthew antagonized him with evil laughter. "I will not-"

Something crashed downstairs, and they leaped from the bed. "What was that?!"

A high-pitched scream.

The brothers gave each another a 'WTF' look. Alfred asked, "Was...was that _Ivan?_"

Matthew sighed, putting his face in hand, "Let's go see what's up."

The big lug was scrambling up the steps when they came out of Alfred's bedroom, almost toppling them over. "Jeez! Calm down!"

Of course, in the history of calming down, nobody did. "Matthew! Matthew, someone came into the house, and I was not thinking, and tackled them into a wall, but then, I realized it was your father!"

A big 'huh?' ran through Alfred's head. Ivan and Matthew just gawked at one another. Alfred laughed, "Are you kidding me?!" Not kidding. Okay. He shook his head and tapped his brother's shoulder, "I'll go see if he's all right."

Matthew tried to soothe the dumb creature, "Papa told you he was going to come home soon, Ivan."

"I did not know _this _soon!"

Alfred paused at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the man leaning against the living room doorway with a hand over his shoulder. "Dad! You all right?!"

Francis perked up, apparently not as hurt as he let on, and held out his arms. "Alfred! Come here!"

"Sheesh!" Freaking demons. Alfred tossed his arms around his Dad and drummed on his back. "You're here!"

"Yes, and I am fine. Just fine."

Alfred noticed his Dad's luggage took a tumble to the floor, and knelt down to pick it up. Matthew hurried down the steps, also stopping when he saw Francis. "Papa, are you okay?!"

"Ah, Matthew! Both of my boys are home!" Francis coaxed another hug out of both of them. "What a lovely way to end the night! Come, come, I am fine," he repeated as they all squished together. "What a fierce grip! I have not realized how _protective _he is!"

Yeah, sure, protective. Matthew pulled back from The Cuddle Train, running a hand through his hair like something was in there. "I'm so sorry, Papa. He's a little antsy with intruders."

Alfred blurted, "Ha, a little?"

Matthew turned his face away.

Francis squeezed Alfred's shoulder before pulling away to grab his luggage. "No, it is somewhat my fault. He was infatuated with the TV, so I took the _opportunity _to sneak on him a grab his shoulders."

"Oh, no!"

Alfred gave his brother a funky look. "Oh no?"

"Y-yeah, like I said earlier, he gets anxious sometimes." Matthew looked afraid all of a sudden, insisting, "I'm sure he has good reasons for being jumpy."

Alfred wondered what they were. Before he could ask, Mattie asked Dad, "How was your trip? Did you have fun?"

"You know I always make sure I do!" Based on that wink, Dad picked up some chicks.

"And it looks like you're free of the plague!"

"That too!"

Alfred scooted closer to his father, starting in a sweet tone, "Hey, Dad, if you're not too jet-lagged, can I talk to you about some stuff?"

"Oh, stuff?"

"Yeah..."

Matthew gave him a little nod. "I'll be upstairs."

"Oh! Is your friend staying the night? I can make all of you breakfast in the morning."

Alfred gasped, bouncing on his toes. No more boxed dinners!

Matthew couldn't stay gloomy after that. "Really?! That'd be great. Thanks, Dad. I'm glad you're okay, but I think I'm going to head to bed now. 'Night." He quickly fled, probably avoiding further conversation.

Alfred tossed his arms around Dad again, making him stagger from all his love. "I missed you, Pops!"

"I missed you more, my boy. Argh, you're squeezing too tight!"

"Ha-ha, oops!" Alfred spared him, who put a hand on his chest like his heart stopped. "How was your flight?"

"Uneventful. Come to the living room with me. I want to hear what you have to say."

Alfred beamed and followed. He reached for the remote for background noise, and honestly, out of habit, but Francis swished his hand away.

"Something serious? Is your injury acting up?"

"No, Dad. That's been fine. I..." Alfred swapped his palms over his jeans, getting nervous under Francis' steady gaze. "Uh..."

"Oh? That smile seems familiar somehow."

Alfred flinched with a little giggle. "Yeah, I, uh, I'm kind of in a thing with Arthur."

"A thing? Like a gang?"

"Huh? No, I mean-"

Francis shouldered Alfred and pinched his chin, "Aha, got you, love! I know what you mean." He quieted down, taking his hand from Alfred's face, and let out a big sigh. "Arthur, hm? Ah, I see."

Uh oh. Oh no. Usually when Alfred came home, giggling how he got a girlfriend, Dad would be the first to give him a high-five. More like, Alfred pestered him into doing it, not settling for _just _a proud pat on the back. Francis' eyes studied something across the room real intense-like. Alfred's voice weakened, "You...you don't like him, do you?"

"I feel like that Arthur has been around for a long time, and yet I know next to nothing about him. Strange..."

Alfred was about to break into a sweat.

His father continued, slowly and quietly, "I expected one of those girls that's always e-mailing you would have gotten your attention. Ah, but I had a feeling you wanted a challenge. Something, a spark in your eyes always told me that." A small smile sprung up on his stubbly face as he gently set an arm over Alfred's shoulders. "A thing, you say? Have you made your feelings known to him?"

Alfred quietly let out the breath he was holding. "I-"

Francis' tone sharpened, "Or did he come to you?"

"Uh, uh, I told him!"

"Ah, okay." Francis gave Alfred a pleasant pat, but it started to seem like a snare. "Does he live alone?"

"What? Yeah?"

"So, he's not married?"

"Um, no!"

"He doesn't have kids?"

"No!" Alfred jerked away. "Ugh, Dad!"

Francis held his hands up, revealing what he was really after, "Alfred, he's an older man! I just want you to be aware of what you are getting yourself into! I know at your age, your heart runs wild, and sometimes you kids find yourselves in cliques that you shouldn't-"

"Dad, I know! Arthur and I already talked about this! And I'm not a kid anymore!"

"You're barely a man!"

Alfred shoved himself from the couch. "Jeez! You're acting like he's an underground mob boss that's going to sweep me off into the sunset or something!"

"How do you know that he's not-"

"He freaking volunteers as a special education teacher, Dad. Trust me, he's _not _a creeper."

Francis took off the couch, too, lowering his hands as if Alfred needed to calm down. "Alfred, I'm just looking out for my son. If you insist on...what you are doing, won't stop you, but..."

Alfred slouched his shoulders as his Dad came closer to pull him into a side-hug. "But what?"

"I want to make sure nobody hurts my boys. All right? You two are the last things I have left in this world. Be careful for me." He repeated, "All right?"

Alfred hesitated as his stomach dropped, before nodding. "Okay, Dad. I...I get it."

Dad pressed a big, wet kiss on the side of his face before doing one of those sad laughs. "You know you can talk to me about whatever."

Ha-ha, if only. Alfred uneasily smiled as he tried to slip away. "Yeah, I know. I'm, uh, going to go to bed, now..."

"All right, my boy. Sweet dreams. Oh! And breakfast tomorrow!"

Alfred pumped his fist before scrambling up the stairs. He stopped in front of his door, catching Francis mutter not-so-quietly to himself, "These scary, handsome men! After both of my boys! _Aïe!_"

If only he knew.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

* * *

_Several weeks later..._

* * *

Ah, weekends. Sleeping in was something that had to appreciated. Even just laying in bed, hours after Alfred usually woke up was pure bliss. The weather was starting to get a little bit warmer, a little lighter earlier in the day, just adding onto a lovely early-Spring morning-

Alfred's eyes snapped open as an _ungodly_ shriek shot from downstairs. He threw his blankets back and ran out of his bedroom without even thinking about it. Matthew came out of his own room at the same time.

"You heard that screeching?" Alfred asked, "Was that Dad?"

Matthew pushed by with only, "Let's go!"

Alfred made sure he was down the steps first, but stopped in his barefooted tracks just before he went into the kitchen. Francis cupped his hands over his mouth, gawking at the looming figure on the other side of the counter. "_The Devil_," his French slipped as he crumpled onto the floor.

"Dad!" Alfred squawked and shoved by Ivan, stupid, stupid Ivan with his stupid wings and stupid demon-ness hanging out like it was okay. "Freaking...ugh!"

What was he thinking? What did the angels threaten him about this? Matthew must not know what was going on either, and sounded as ticked as Alfred felt, "Why are you not disguised?!"

Alfred pulled their Dad up, at least onto his lap so his back wasn't against the floor. No head bleeding or lumps or bumps, so maybe it was just a normal reaction someone would have from looking at such a thing; promptly passing out.

Matthew knelt next to him, tapping Francis' face, but he didn't respond. "At least there's no blood." He shouted at Ivan, "Use that jewel thing before he wakes up again!"

"Why?" The dumb creature started to come around the counter, and Alfred defensively gathered his father into his arms. "He already saw me."

"Who's fault was that?!" Go Mattie! "What were you thinking?!"

Ivan had to the nerve to flinch, and then try to grab Francis' legs. Alfred shoved by him, but he quickly followed, anyway. He let a grunt as he set his Dad on the couch, and pulled back with a big flourish of his hands, an attempt to make sense of it all. Well, the old man will probably need an ice pack when he comes to. "I can't freaking believe...stupid...freaking..."

When Alfred came back from the kitchen, he stopped before living room doorway as Ivan must have been explaining himself, "...he would have been accepting as you were of who I am. _What _I am. I have been with you for months now, and I have shared many fond conversations with the man. It is very sad to see him react in horror like that."

"Oh, Ivan," Matthew babied the dumb dude with a hug. A hug, after almost giving Dad a heart attack! "Okay, maybe we can talk to him about this."

"I am just a horrible creature, aren't I?"

"Stop that. Dad was a little taken back. That's all."

Alfred rolled his eyes from their little show as Matthew's tone sharpened, "Seriously though! You should've talked to me first before you planned something like this!"

Now _that _was more like it.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Alfred smacked the door frame before they could go on. "For real?" Their stumped faces followed him to the couch as he pressed the ice pack onto Francis' forehead. "You guys did this neutralization thing so something like this wouldn't happen."

"I-I know," Ivan panicked, "I know! I think I should go before Francis wakes up and sees me again."

"What, no!" Matthew threw himself at the guy. "Come on, please don't! _I_ want you here."

Gag.

"I want to be here, too, Matthew."

Double gag.

Ivan continued with that super sad pout, "What if your father-"

Francis thrashed, and Alfred almost dropped the ice bag. "Dad!"

Dad sat up, stared at Ivan for a moment, and screamed again. Alfred dropped the ice for real and clamped his hands over his ears.

"Dad!" Matthew hurried to the couch, "Chill!"

Nope; no chilling for Francis. He leaped to his feet, snagged Matthew's arm and yanked him away from Ivan. "Just what are you?!" Alfred flinched, taken back from how loudly their father freaked out, "You stay away from my sons! They are good boys!"

Ivan held out a hand. "I know that! There is no reason to be alarmed!" He stupidly took a step toward Francis.

"Stay back! Stay over there, or else...or else I will call the police!"

Alfred hurried to stick to his Dad's side, trying to bring sense back to him, "Dad, I don't think you should call the cops on a demon."

Ivan so better not be smiling about this. "I will stay over here if it makes you feel better. _Not _that I have intentions in bringing harm to you or your family-"

Francis hollered to nothing in particular, "Then I will call an exorcist!"

"Stop!" Matthew begged, "Just hear us out, okay?!"

"What?! Us? You're with him?!" Francis whirled on Alfred. "You are not freaking out either. _Both _of you know of this?"

Alfred hissed under his breath. "Fuck, uh, yeah..."

Matthew wrestled their Dad's fingers from pulling on his shirt, and shoved away, "I've been with him for how long now? That's the same Ivan that has been here ever since you came home!"

Francis gestured wildly to Ivan, "He is a demon creature!"

Ivan held up a hand, "Just demon is fine."

"I-I saw those...those _things _come out of him!"

"All I need is a trident now, yes?"

Alfred snorted.

Matthew groaned in annoyance as Francis latched onto his night shirt again. "Ivan, you are not helping matters! We're supposed to be getting my dad to breathe right again, not freak him out more!"

By the looks of it, Francis was freaking out more. He grabbed onto Alfred's arm now, too, not minding of his nails poking into his skin.

"How do I do that?!"

"Oh, my God," Francis wobbled, and Alfred propped his free arm behind his back. "I need to sit down."

"Yeah." That was a better idea.

Francis shook a finger at Ivan, "You stay right there!" He slowly sank into the couch with a much more quieter murmur, "I need a glass of water."

Before Alfred could do anything, Matthew said, "I'll get you that! Stay put, all of you!"

Alfred rolled his eyes and plopped next to Francis. Arthur would never be stupid enough to just pop up, wings out and everything in front of the old man. In front of any random human, really. At least he was up in Heaven right now, out of this mess.

"Did you know?" Francis asked when Matthew came back with a glass. "Did you know the whole time that your _friend _was..._this_?!"

"I-I've known since the moment I met him."

That didn't seem to make things better. "Is this some kind of contract? Are you going to take my boy's soul after a set amount of time?"

"Contract?" Ivan tipped his head. "Why would there be a contract? Matthew's life is his own, and I will stay by him no matter what he choses to do with it."

"You're a demon!"

"Ah, thank you for clarifying that."

"From Hell!" Francis shook an arm. "With the screaming and eternal torture by pitchforks and flames?!" He took a loud breath to get some air in, but thankfully, Matthew put a hand on his shoulder.

"Papa, he doesn't like it when people say that."

Oh, poor demon. "Now I know where you got all those ideas from, Matthew!"

Francis furrowed his brows at Mattie, whispering, "You are all right with this?"

"Uh, since he has been here for at least several weeks, and I already know that he is a demon...I would say yes."

Alfred grinned and nodded, but their Dad just put a palm to his face. "What did I do wrong?!"

"You didn't do anything wrong!" Matthew hurried around the couch to kneel in front of Francis. "I'm not running around, knocking up girls or getting arrested or doing drugs!"

Alfred eagerly nodded some more. "Neither am I!"

Francis snapped his head toward him, "How long have _you _known about this?"

Alfred clamped right up. "Um. A while?"

Ivan came close, speaking in a sickly sweet murmur, "You have not done anything wrong, Mister Francis."

Francis flailed a fist, hollering, "I said to stay over there!"

The dumb creature tripped backwards, speaking much more quickly, "Matthew is not in the wrong for showing me kindness, especially when that is hard to come by for someone like me. Just for being born the way I am does not justify the way your people and yourself scream in my true face!"

Alfred's mouth popped open, but eh, the guy was kind of right. It's not like he has rained any fireballs onto Earth yet, and he's been behaving himself for a month ever since the angels flaunted that demon-be-gone stuff on him.

Francis let out an empty chuckle, "Are you trying to make me feel bad?"

Ivan sprung a cheeky smile, "I could easily turn that question around and victimize myself sir, but I will not because I try not to be a bad demon."

Matthew goaded, "Yeah, Dad."

Alfred stuck his tongue out, making Matthew scrunch his face at him.

Francis slowly leaned back on the couch, giving his knees a good rub. "So, you do not plan on eating my son, or consuming his soul?"

Ivan shook his head, still smiling. "That would most likely hurt my stomachs, so no, I will not eat your son. I am certain we both would be sad if I ate him! Hee-hee!"

Wait, did he seriously just say _stomachs_?

"Why are you here, on Earth?"

"Uh, I was born from my mother's womb, just as you and your sons were? And before you start asking, no, there is no eternal damnation. Humans cannot get to Hell without wings, and we actually have water below the surface, too!"

Matthew added, "Warm water. Yuck."

Alfred and Francis did a double take. Francis, for more horrified reasons, "You would know that?"

Uh oh, for Mattie. "Um, I been there before. I was curious..."

"What?!" Francis leaped to his feet, almost dropping his cup of water as he faced Ivan, "You took my baby to Hell?!"

A little louder, please, for the neighbors to hear!

Ivan pointed out, "He is walking perfectly fine, is he not?"

"What if something ate him?!"

"I would not let that happen."

"What if it did?! Ugh! I, ugh! I-I could just...I could just throw this water on you!"

"Ah," Ivan didn't really seem fazed. "Okay?"

"Dad!" Matthew sprung up and planted his hands onto their Dad's shoulders. "Didn't you say yourself that Ivan was protective?! Not only would he make sure I would not get eaten, which I should tell you, I'm a little too big for creatures of Hell to swallow whole!" He shook his head, as if to himself, "I would try to make sure nothing would eat me either."

Ivan's eyes went wide, and he exclaimed to Francis, "You said that about me? How kind!"

Francis blanched, "That was before!"

Matthew gestured to Ivan, "Before you found out he was a demon? Because that suddenly changes everything you knew about him?"

Aw man, Alfred wished he could have gotten this on video. He leaned back, propping an arm over the sofa and enjoyed the view. Francis shuddered, holding up his hand, blocking out the dumb creature, "His gaze makes my blood run cold."

"As if it didn't before?" Matthew whispered.

"I...this is a lot to take in. An actual demon?"

"They're a bit different than the myths," Matthew admitted with an uneasy smile. "At least now they are." His nose curled a bit, "Well, I'm sure there are _evil _ones out there, but it's the same with us. He's not the bad guy, Papa."

Alfred's leg gave a little jerk as Ivan glided over to the gathering. "I'm not the bad guy, Matthew's papa. I try not to be, at least. Although...it can be a little fun!"

Francis weakly cleared his throat. "I...I suppose you do. And I suppose you will take my son somewhere I will not see anymore?"

Alfred leaned over to catch Ivan's face. "No! No, we can visit whenever Matthew wants!"

"Okay." Francis set his cup on the coffee table before collapsing onto the couch again. "Need to sit."

Alfred plucked the ice pack from the floor and shook it in his face, "Do you still need this, Dad?"

"No, no," Francis weakly flapped a hand. "You can put that back into the freezer."

Alfred rushed to the kitchen to get rid of the bulky thing. He rubbed his hands on his pajama bottoms, trying to get the chill out, and shakily sighed. "Woo, okay. Guess Dad's onto this now. Yeah."

What a freaking wake-up call.

Commotion rose from the living room again, in the few moments Alfred was gone, and a funny feeling dropped to his stomach. There was a new voice. He nearly sprinted out of the kitchen and stuck himself in the living room doorway. Oh, great, there was little Artie, shoving Ivan and yelling at him, but it's not like the big lug would move.

"You yell and manhandle me now, after how much time passed?"

Alfred just wanted to go over there and throw his arms around the angel, to finally hug him again after weeks, but found himself stupidly rooted to the doorway. Apparently, Arthur _is _stupid enough to just pop up, wings out and everything in front of the old man.

"Well, I was busy, and had not noticed!" Arthur glanced to Francis chilling on the couch, and back again. "Francis?!"

"Ah," Francis uneasily smiled and pointed, "Let me guess. An angel."

"Yes. How observant of you."

"Ha. Ha-ha! So both of my boys are running around with strange creatures!"

In Alfred's defense, strange creatures were better to run around with than underground mob bosses. Matthew grumbled something, but Alfred blurted, "Arthur! What are you doing?!"

Arthur whirled on him, putting his hands on his hips as his wings gave a little twitch, "Demon business! Again! Of course!" He then turned to Francis, snapping, "And strange creatures?! How rude!"

Yep, good to know he was still full of fire and spite.

Francis clamped his hands onto his head, lowered himself to lie down, and started to sob.

Ivan told Arthur, "Look! You made him cry!"

Arthur stood on his bare toes (ankle bangles pass as shoes, apparently?) to square up to the big lug, "If anything, it is the ungodly sight of _you_ that causes tears. What are you doing, showing yourself to humans that do not need to know of our existence?!"

Ivan equally got in his face, although sounded much calmer, "He is the boys' father. It would be rude to take in his sons without a word of our plans together."

Arthur balled his hands into his fists, turning his face away from the demon's hard look. He glanced in Alfred's direction, not really meeting his eye, and stuffed his arms underneath each other. "As much as it stings me to agree, I must. It would be rather _awful _to take Matthew away without warning. There would be police searches and everything."

Alfred went over to the couch to see if his Dad was still kicking. Matthew swiped some hair from his forehead, whispering, "I think he should be all right."

"Could have taken it better."

"Well, yeah, but..." Matthew just shrugged.

Francis sniffled, keeping an arm over his eyes, so Alfred just let him be, and hurried to escape to the kitchen.

"Yes," Arthur said, "That is something Alfred would claim anyway."

"Huh?" Alfred tossed a timid glance over his shoulder. "What?"

"What? Nothing."

"Oh." Yikes. Alfred made his escape. He paced around the kitchen counter, obviously feeling weird, but tried to ignore it as he opened the fridge. Lots of snacks, like cheese. That was nice and all, but his stomach wasn't exactly open for business after all of that.

Francis sobbed from the other room, "Get me some tissues!"

Alfred snorted and shook his head. Hopefully this entire mess didn't mess up the old man in his noggin. Somebody cleared their throat from the doorway, nearly scaring the skin off of his bones. "Argh! Hi! What are you doing?"

Arthur huffed and rolled his eyes as he propped himself against the door frame. "They dragged me all the way down from Heaven, telling me this was _my _mess, and _I _have to deal with it. Damn demons. This is _exactly _what I was worried about when all that _shite _went down."

"Oh." Alfred took a slow step around the counter, getting all fluttery and stuff. "Yeah, poor Pops, huh?" He looked down, gnawing on his lip. "Is that a new toga? It looks good."

"Right. No, I mean," Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose. "Thank. You. Would you get me a glass of water? Don't I need it?"

"Sure!" Alfred squawked a little too loudly. When he turned around with a cup in hand, he jumped, water sloshing as the angel was already sitting on one of the kitchen stools and hunched over the counter. Al didn't even hear him move. "Uh, here."

"Yeah, thanks."

Alfred hovered to Arthur's other side, not really knowing what to say, not really knowing what to do. He glanced down, captured by the shiny bangles around his biceps and gave one a flick, "Are these real gold?"

Whoa, that was a real nasty look Arthur just gave him. Alfred yanked his hand away. "Yes, they are." A pause, and he slid out of his chair in a flurry of feathers and light. "I need to go back up now. Lots to do."

"Oh, so you're..." Arthur was gone. "...still busy."

'Busy' took a month before. 'Lots to do' will probably take another month. Alfred flopped against the counter and sighed.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

* * *

Apparently 'lots to do' takes more than a month. Almost _two _months. Lots to do, here, too. Everyone was freaking out about preparations for finals, the warm weather and barbeques, and all those posters with classmate's faces pasted onto them, goading them for Prom King and Queen.

Wow. It was almost the end of the school year. Alfred blinked at the date on the white-board, the smudge mark next to the scrawls about buying tickets. Some of his friends had their heads together, whispering against the morning announcements, and he lost whatever anybody said.

"Wait, what?" Alfred asked. His buddies lifted their heads. "You're having a party?"

"Uh, yeah...my grandpa's usual BBQ that happens every year." His gal-pal tipped her head and batted her eyes. "I kind of figured you didn't seem really interested, so..."

"Why wouldn't I be interested?"

His friends glanced around one another, all surprised. "W-well, I mean, if you want to come, you're more than welcome to!"

"Yeah! We'd love for you to be there!"

"We missed you, man." Alfred smiled as one of his bro-friends patted his back, encouraging him closer to their cluster. "So, like, yeah, if anybody wants to bring any chips and stuff, please do, because Gramps only gets that kettle-cooked, salt-free crap, blech..."

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Alfie! Alfie!"

As soon as Alfred slipped out his first period class, one of the girls pulled him to the side. "Hey, what's up?"

She smiled up at him, "You all right?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"Oh. Well, um, I was thinking we all should do something tonight. There's a cheap showing at the theater next door. We could see what's playing. You're not doing anything later, are you?"

Besides get annoyed by Francis, who vowed to work from home, 'keeping an eye out' ever since that demon shenanigans went down? "I don't think so-"

"Great!" The girl giggled, bouncing on her toes and looked real cute. "We'll meet up out front when school's over!"

Alfred didn't have time to refuse even if he wanted to. "Cool, uh, see you later!"

He reminded himself that there were still good things in the world.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

After his last class, he ambled down the hall with Matthew, bumping into his shoulder again and again until he snapped and shoved him back, almost into a pair of terrorized freshmen. "Hey, uh, Mattie, I'm going to check something real quick."

"What, the special-ed room again? He's not going to be there, Alfred."

"They might know something!"

"They didn't know anything yesterday..."

Alfred stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and weaved in and out of the hoard of dismissing students, cutting across the main hall for that one door. He peeked the window, and took a few startled steps back as some kids from inside shoved open the door with ear-piercing squeals. "Hey, wait!"

Some of them ran down the hall without acknowledgement. Those that lingered tipped their heads.

"Is Arthur around?"

They still stared.

"Uh...did Mister K swing by yet?"

"Nope! Not yet!

"He's on vacation, dummy!"

The door opened again, and they took the distraction to sprint down the hall, yelling in delight at one another. "Hey!" The teacher hollered, "No running!"

They didn't listen. She turned to Alfred, face growing steely as she narrowed her eyes. "Afternoon, Bonnefoy. You know it's dismissal time, right?"

"H-hey. You haven't heard anything-"

"No, I haven't. Look. Alfred," she started slowly, "I know some students latch onto certain teachers, but this is the last few months of your senior year. Kirkland's been on family leave for two months now. It would be a hassle for everybody if he came back this late into the year. And you! You should be focusing on your finals."

With that, and a sassy flick of her pony tail, she threw open the door and slipped inside. Alfred snorted, "Family leave, my ass." How hard was it to send a text? Or even a freaking message through a bird or something?

"Alfie! Alfieeeeee!"

Alfred glanced around, getting shoulder checked by a rude-ass and impatient guy. One of the girls pushed by some slow-walkers and hopped right up to him with a big smile on her face. "Hey! I found you!"

"Hey!" Alfred tried to sound as delighted. "What's up?"

"So? Are we going to hang out or what?"

"Sure! I'm not doing anything." Alfred glanced around. "Where's everybody else?"

"They probably went home already. Come on!" She latched onto his hand. "It can just be the two of us!"

"Whoa!" Alfred exclaimed as the little lady drug him through the rest of the crowd. He didn't know if he was impressed or intimidated.

"Alfred?" Matthew was waiting outside the front doors. His eyes widened. "Where are you-"

"Want to hang out? We're going to catch a movie!"

Matthew glanced down at the girl, like he was scared by feminine presence. "Uh, no, that's okay. I was just going to go home."

Alfred shrugged. "Whatever man!"

As they went in opposite directions, the girl snickered, "Your brother's kind of a goof, isn't he?"

"Oh, yeah, you can say that again!"

Luckily she wasn't a smartass and didn't repeat herself.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

The movie was _awful. _Like, pulling a piece of skin from a nail kind of awful. The acting, the special effects, ugh, they couldn't deal with it anymore, and slipped out of the theater together.

"Man! I was waiting _months _for that to come out! And just..." Alfred didn't have words. "Wow, they just _ruined _it. Everything the second one built up to...just gone!"

"Yeah, what were they thinking? If I was the lead-actress, I would totally walk off the set."

"Ha! Hey, check it out!" Alfred said, even though it was obvious and not really interesting, "It's dark outside."

At least his friend seemed to dig it, "Wow, hey! It is!" A spry grin sprung onto her face. "Hey, you know what? All the losers probably scrammed for the night. You want to sneak in the sports park and see if there are any baseballs lying around?"

"I don't know, it's after hours...and what if someone comes back tomorrow looking for their balls?"

The girl busted out in laughter. "Oh, come on, Alfie!" Her smile fell. "Seriously? Come on," she repeated. "You need to let loose, man! Let's go have some fun!"

Alfred, not wanting to be a lame cat and ruin the outing, which was already teetering from the chummy movie, relented, "Okay, but if the police come by and get us, we're going to have to throw our balls at them and run!" He smacked his forehead, making her laugh again. "Agh! That didn't come out right!"

A few cars passed by, but people were busy, hopefully too busy to catch two teenagers dart between trees and around the chain link fences encompassing a small baseball diamond. "See anything?"

"Nope. No balls lying around."

More giggling.

"Ha-ha, balls..."

"Let's go chill out at the park."

Something about clamoring over the rusty, metal bars of a jungle gym enthralled Alfred. Plus he got to flip over a couple of poles, showing off some moves to a buddy. The girl meandered around the monkey bars as Al stuck his legs between two bars and swung upside down. "Boo!"

She pretended to flinch, and laughed. "You're such a dummy, Alfie."

"Ha-ha, I've heard that one before." He flipped up, scrambling around some more as she just watched. He paused at the end of the metal bars, catching his breath and rubbing his sore palms together. "You know, I forgot how nice this is. Just to get away and hang out...but it's so stupid how some of these playgrounds have signs saying only twelve year olds can play on them. It's not like we're doing drugs!"

"Oh, we're doing worse! We're..." The girl gasped, "We're loitering!"

Alfred grinned and swung upside down again to poke her tummy and make her squeak. "Our first steps into the world of crime! Mwahaha!"

"I don't know, Alfie, you kind of look like a superhero, like that."

Alfred tugged his shirt back over his pants when it fell down. "You think so?"

"Yeah. Have you ever watched that one superhero movie, where that guy had to fight that other guy that climbed walls?"

"_Pfft!_ Uh, yeah!" Alfred dramatically rolled his eyes as blood seeped to his head. "Everyone's seen that one!"

His lady-friend sniggled, taking a step closer. "Well, you remember that scene where he was dangling upside down and the heroine came over and kissed him?"

"Yeah, I think so! That was so random!"

"I thought it was nice." She shrugged, cupped Alfred's cheeks and kissed him on the mouth.

Alfred grabbed the metal bar he dangled off of, and hoisted himself to sit. "Whoa! Hey..."

"What?" The girl smiled and batted her eyes. "You never been kissed by a girl before?"

"I-I have!" Alfred squawked, resisting the sudden urge to touch the fluttery sensation on his lips. He jumped as his friend climbed on top of the play set, scooting against him before trying to smooch some more.

Alfred didn't pull away, but he didn't kiss her back either! Although...when she pulled away with a little grin, he found himself leaning in to feel that warmth against his face again. He jerked away with a loud, "No! I can't!"

His friend jumped, blinking in surprise. "Uh, what?"

"I really shouldn't!" Alfred pointedly turned his back on her, fidgeting to get down from the monkey bars.

"Alfie, wait!" She clamped a hand onto his shoulder. "What the Hell are you talking about?"

"Arthur and I are in this thing together-"

"Oh, Al! Arthur's not even around anymore! He's been gone for _two months."_ Her tone dipped to be gentle again, "Come on, already. He's not coming back."

Alfred turned to her. "You don't know that."

She shrugged. She did that a lot. "You don't either." She put a warm hand on Alfred's. "When you said we could hang out today, I was so happy. You've been...out of it lately, and I think it's because you're too hung up on him. We missed you, Al. He's not here. _I _am. Right here. Right now. And later. Prom's coming up. We can run for King and Queen! We can make the yearbooks! Come back to us!"

Her eyes were wide and pleading, close. Alfred kind of wanted for her to kiss him again. But...he turned his head away, gnawing on the inside of his cheek. His chest was running a mile a second, and it felt _wrong. _"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." his voice came out tight. He pulled his hand away and hopped off the monkey bars. "I think I should go..."

She slouched her head to one side, obviously annoyed. "Alfred."

"I-it's not you! You're great, okay! I just got some things to think about!" Alfred spun around and ran away like his butt was aflame. Great, just what he needed. More Feelings. He slowed when he got to the shops and apartments, eyes distant on the sidewalk below his feet. "Oh, man," he bemoaned as the cool night air stirred some common sense back into his brain. "Oh, man, what'd I do?"

What _should _he do? Being the boss of Prom, the boss of all school dances, could be in his grasp with a _human _lady friend...a normal life all of a sudden. It resumed right under Alfred's nose after the entire time. It could keep going. Maybe after everything he could know...normal wasn't so bad anymore. What else would he do if Arthur actually never came back?

No, he _had _to. He couldn't just leave without saying anything more. He couldn't just leave Alfred hanging, knowing everything, his work, his touches...

Alfred threw his hands out and shook them at the night sky, getting some kind of grip on himself. He passed by Antonio's bookstore and looked up at a figure looming by the window. Lovino wiped the inside of the glass, and paused as they stared at one another. He glanced behind himself, before holding up his middle finger to Alfred.

Yeah, he probably deserved that. Alfred curled his nose at him before marching towards his house. Damn it, if only Arthur could come back, come back and _stay,_ then everything would stop being confusing.

Alfred stopped, sneakers scratching on the concrete as he glanced in the direction of the bookshop. He ran back and smacked his hands to the glass, scaring a short yell from Lovino. "You asshole!" He said loud enough to hear from outside, "I just cleaned that side!"

"Is Antonio there?"

Lovino gave him the middle finger again. Alfred rolled his eyes before throwing open the door. "Hey, you little shit-"

"Lovino!" Antonio's voice came from the storage room. He emerged with an armful of books and a furious twitch of an eyebrow, "I told you again and again with that..."

Alfred coughed, "Uh, hey, Antonio."

Antonio's shadowy expression flipped to a cheery smile. It was kind of scary. "Ay, you! What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you. Please."

Antonio sighed, "Oh, no..." He set the box of books on the check-out counter and gestured down the aisles. "Come on." He pointed to Lovino, "Stay there, Lovi!"

"Oh, fuck off."

Alfred jumped when Antonio grabbed his bicep with cold fingers and towed him to the back lounge. "Here, sit!" He immediately obeyed, wondering what got on the angel's nerves. "I'll be back!"

"Dang," Alfred said as Toni nearly sprinted to the other side of the store. There was some low murmuring, and then Lovino's annoyed voice, and then Antonio raising his, before a choked out apology. Yeah, even Al was surprised.

"Now, what did you need?" Antonio asked when he came back, again, totally chill like he almost didn't turn Lovino's brain into mush. Lovino probably didn't even know what would hit him. "No books this time, I assume?"

Alfred gawked stupidly. "Uh, no." Glowing people were out of the blue, but nothing that fazed him anymore. This wasn't an angel-thing at this point. It was an Arthur-thing. "I kind of need a big favor of you. I mean, if you're not super busy..."

Antonio settled on the adjacent chair with a short sigh. "No, _friend, _I can spare a moment or two."

"Well, uh, I was wondering if you could call Arthur for me."

"Hm? Call Arthur? Do you have a phone?"

"Y-yeah, I do! But that's not what I mean. He's up...you know, and can't answer my texts or calls, and I really, _really _need to talk to him now."

Antonio scratched his cheek before rubbing his chin and tapping his foot, like there was all the time in the world. "Oh. Oh, I see."

Alfred sure felt stupid. "So..."

"That's a little different than what I was expecting."

"Can you do it for me? Please?"

Antonio chuckled, but it seemed fake. "I almost forgot some of you still have manners." He shook his head, "Heaven's a long way, Alfred. Is it an emergency?"

"Well, no, but...I really need..." Alfred trailed off underneath Antonio's steady stare.

"Last I heard, Eyebrows has a lot stacked on him right now. A distraction wouldn't do anybody good. How about I take a message the next time I go up?"

Alfred blinked really fast, trying to fight stress behind his eyes. "No, I don't think that could work. Thanks." He pushed to his feet.

Antonio sprung up as well, starting loudly, "Ah, maybe..." Alfred turned around, surprised. "After I close up shop tonight, I'll see what I can do."

"Really? You..." Alfred could just hug the guy right now, but he didn't. He decided to stand there stupidly instead, nodding and smiling. "Okay. Okay, thank you. Thanks."

Antonio lifted a hand and pressed Alfred's shoulder, filling his lungs with Good Feelings. "Do you need a tissue, friend?"

Alfred jerked away from the calming touch, and swiped wetness from his cheek. "No! I'm fine. I'm going to go now."

"Oh, you sure? If you say so...uh, goodnight!"

Alfred kept his head down as he passed Lovino scrubbing the outside of the window, where he plastered his hands earlier, but neither said anything. He went home in a rush to throw a blanket over his head and hide from what he had done.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

* * *

There was a chill in Alfred's bedroom. He scrunched his blankets closer to his chin, grumbling as he shivered, since Spring was well underway, and it shouldn't be treating him like that. His bed springs creaked, and his eyes flew open, blinking at a soft glowing before his face. Alfred pulled himself up with a gasp.

"Arthur!"

The angel furrowed his thick eyebrows, and his voice was taunt with a hiss, "What's wrong?"

"Um, what?"

"Antonio said you came around the bookstore. He said you seemed upset." Arthur tipped his head. "Did something happen? Anything with the demon-"

Alfred tugged his blanket close to distract his gaze. "N-no, nothing with...no, I..." His jaw started to tremble. "I'm sorry," he blubbered and stuffed the cover to his face. "I'm so sorry, Arthur."

Arthur scoffed and started to tug the blankets away. "Come on, now. Tell me what happened."

"N-no!" Alfred wouldn't let his cover go, and eventually, Arthur just stopped pulling on it. "I kissed a girl, man! W-we were. Hanging out. Like we always used to. And." He gasped for a short breath, already feeling like a complete idiot with his hands curled over his face, "I didn't think anything of it. And. She just." His shoulders shook as he tried to shrug. "I don't know, I let her do it. It felt nice! But, but, but-"

"God, really, Alfred?" Arthur let out something like a laugh. One of his hands combed through Alfred's hair, coaxing the blanket down from his face. ""When I heard you called, I started to dread the worse; a demon, something happening to your brother, or your father...stop getting yourself so worked up, all right?"

"No, it's not all right." Alfred grunted and sniffled as Arthur leaned over the bed and pressed his nose to the side of his head. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"Mad at you?!" Arthur pulled back with a little snort, only to bring his mouth to Alfred's cheek, "Why in the world would I be mad at _you_?" Before Alfred could think to respond, Artie lightheartedly scoffed, voice teetering, "After everything I've said and done, _you _should be angry with _me!_"

"What?!" A bit too loudly for the hour, "No, I'm not-"

Arthur pressed his fingertips to Alfred's lips, hushing, "Months, now, Alfred, I've been gone. The last time we saw one another, I wanted nothing else but you! If hadn't acted so cold, if I let you close, if I saw you smile, I would never return to Heaven. Back to my duties. That's all I've ever done. That's all I ever put above all else, including you. I would never blame you for getting sick of this shite and finding a better life for yourself. Because that's what that is. Something far better than what I have to offer."

Alfred squeezed his eyes shut against the wonderful prickling across this skin, shaking his head as Arthur kept going, "Young men kiss women. It's supposed to feel good, idiot. Maybe that's what you need. A wonderful wife that will be there for you every day. One that can actually cook and not burn your kitchen down."

"Arthur."

"Is that what you want?"

"No! I-I don't know. I missed you! I-I was thinking of you the whole time my friend and I...um...I just want you to come back down here and _stay _so everything can stop being confusing!"

That sad look of Arthur's melted into something else, like he was about to smile. "Mm-hm?"

Alfred glanced away from prolonged eye-contact. "And you said you were gonna get mad and rip my limbs off if I, like, messed around..."

"Have you messed around?"

A sharp inhale caught in Alfred's throat when Arthur dipped his head, his mess of hair teasing his cheek as his 'visitor' pressed a hard kiss to the crook underneath his jaw. "N-nothing from what I told you about."

"Have you been _wanting_ to mess around?"

Wait, what did he just say? Whatever was powering Alfred's brain scampered off to be somewhere else. Arthur's lips trailed down his jaw and neck, and Alfred flinched, giggling over the tickling sensation, but yelped as teeth suddenly nipped at his skin, "Agh, no!"

Gentler, Arthur murmured against his neck, "Not even with me, love?"

Alfred snorted, acting like there were still coherent thoughts left behind in his head space. "_Of course _I've been thinking about...uh, you, like everyday, man!" He tried to jerk away, but an arm had snuck over his waist and persuaded him to stay close. "How was that a fair question?!"

The Bastard Angel snickered like a devil, tapping his thumb to Alfred's lip, "Then why are we still talking?"

Alfred blinked. Come on, thoughts. "Um, what?"

"Every minute I'm here, is a minute longer we both have to wait for me to come back!"

"What! Arthur, stop it." Alfred caught himself doing one of those sad laughs, "You're making sense!"

"God, you fool!" Arthur sprung forward to squish their faces together. "Don't you think I've missed you, too?!"

"Oh, come on," Alfred groaned against his mouth, against _him, _"just stay, Arthur!"

"I can't. I mustn't." Just as they pulled back, they came forward again, meeting with another eager kiss. "I have to go, or else I may never be able to come back."

Alfred tried words, pleading, "When are you coming back, then? For real? Come on, give me anything."

"I don't know. They're keeping me busy."

"Why?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Arthur clasped his hands on Alfred's cheeks, kissing him in a way that stole the breath out of his lungs. Literally. A moment later, Alfred's eyes went wide as a cold shudder ran over his tongue, moments before his brain would turn into sap.

"Arthur, no!"

Arthur pressed on his chest, and Alfred fell back onto his bed with a startled grunt. "I must, and always have, put Heaven first, before anything else." He leaned down and kissed him again, much more softly this time that ended with a sigh, "Look where doing that has me, _yet _again."

What a lose-lose situation; a drowsy mind took over Alfred's senses with each touch, and if they broke apart, well, that would leave him sad and lonely in bed. "Artie...miss you..."

"I know. Don't worry, I'll deal with this. Go to sleep."

"Don't wanna."

"Oh, yes, you will," Arthur whispered, smooching Alfred again.

Alfred lazily smiled, fuzzily gazing at the glowing figure slipping away from his bed to raise his wings and arms above his head. He forgot what they what they were even talking about. Just that Arthur looked good in that poofy little toga. Then he was gone.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

When Alfred opened his eyes that morning, he glanced down, confused why he thought something laid on his chest. Blankets, maybe? Ditching weird dreams and his bed, he hazily got ready for school.

On the way, Matthew asked, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah! Why?"

"Oh, uh..." When Alfred glanced over, Matthew quickly looked away. "You seem quieter than usual. Did you eat breakfast?"

"Uh-huh. I grabbed some toast. You?"

"No. I forgot."

More like, didn't have enough time between pulling himself out of bed five minutes ago. "I think I had a funny dream yesterday."

"Really? So did I!"

"Really?" Alfred echoed. "Wait, I dreamed that Arthur came down and kissed me, man."

"What? Ugh, that's not weird!"

"Let me guess your dream then, huh? Ivan was touching your butt."

"No, he did that enough before he went back to Hell."

Alfred remembered not-so-subtly eavesdropping on _that _conversation around Spring Break. It wasn't his fault that Mattie liked to have serious talks in the hallway instead of his bedroom. The demon-dude went bye-bye soon after that, and Al couldn't help but be mildly surprised that nobody told him right away. Or that Ivan didn't duck by and say goodbye, even after all that crap they went through together! Stupid demon. "For now?"

"Of course."

"How can you be so sure?"

Matthew replied too cheerily for the time of the day, "Because I say so!"

"Oh. What if...something happens down there? I mean, it's Hell." Alfred glimpsed across the street when Matthew trained an annoyed scowl on him. "Like, did you ever worry that a lady-demon would try to be all up on him?"

"_No one_'s all up on Ivan."

Alfred laughed, "Because you say so?"

Matthew didn't laugh. "No, because they don't want to be."

"Huh? What?"

"Shut up already, Al."

"Wow, okay." They were almost at the school, anyway. "So, what was your dream about?"

"I made about six-thousand pancakes, and they were all over the house and we couldn't get anywhere."

"Oh, wow." Alfred wished his dreams were like that. They nodded to one another before Matthew ducked into the library. "Nerd."

Matthew must have not heard him. Alfred kept walking. He shared his first period class with a lot of his friends, but at least he didn't share a class with the girl from last night until later. Gave him more time to think about what to say without breaking their friendship, if it wasn't already broken. He opened the door and put his books on his desk, stopping to give his buddies a weird look as they steadily stared up at him.

"Hey, guys?"

"Hey, Al." Their eyes followed him as he settled, like he was going to run away from them, too.

"What's up?"

"Nothing much."

They probably all chattered and gossiped about what happened three times over already. Alfred meekly nodded. They didn't talk to him the rest of the period. What a cruddy morning.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Maybe Alfred should pull a page out of his brother's book and hole himself in the library. Well, he shouldn't be pulling any pages there, but...ugh, that was beside the point. The weird smell of books, and kids playing math games on the computers would be his new haven. He lingered outside the library doors before his study period, debating if he should get a pass or not. It was either sit with his friends but in silence, or sit by himself, again, in silence, because Matthew had English class at the time.

"Alfred?"

Alfred jumped, trying to keep surprise from his face as his gal-pal approached. "Oh, hey."

"Are you taking your study hall in the library?"

"Uh...yeah. You?"

"Let's go in."

It was quiet between them as they waited in line. They took their passes, and went back to their normal study classroom to get it approved before going back to the library. Way too much walking back and forth; another reason Alfred disliked the whole school library business. "You're going to take your free period in the library, too?"

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you."

It had to happen sometime. Alfred forced a little smile on his face when she looked up at him. "Okay. We can sit in the back."

When they set the books on the long table furthest from the entrance of the library, she propped herself against the window sill overlooking some kind of fenced-in generator behind the school. "Look, I've been thinking."

Oh, no. It was never a good thing when girls said that. Alfred blew breath on the window to distract himself. "Yeah?"

"I had fun last night."

She went quiet. Must have been waiting for Alfred to say something. "Me, too," he admitted.

His friend seemed pleased at that. "I'm glad. I don't want any hard feelings between us. We've been friends since ninth grade, and I would hate to ruin that over...silly _relationship _stuff."

"It's not silly. I just..."

"It okay." The girl reassured him with a smile that made Alfred want to smile, too. "You like someone else, and kicking and screaming about it isn't going to make things better for either of us. So..." She sighed, and gave a little nod, "I'm not going to get in the way of you and Arthur. You obviously like him, and I can't really deny that."

"Really?"

"_Pssh, _yeah, really!"

"Wow. Yeah, wow. How come?"

The girl rolled her eyes, "Well, I sure didn't leave that hickey on your neck! _Someone _must have had a surprise visit last night, huh? Is he finally back for good?"

Wait, what? Alfred clamped a hand on his neck.

"Other side, dummy."

"Oh!" He squeaked. "Thanks! No, he just stopped in for a little bit, and...I-I...yeah, thanks! W-we'll sit together at lunch, okay? I'll tell Mattie, and...yeah, I have to go! Bye!"

She laughed and waved. "Study hall doesn't end for another forty minutes, Alfie!"

Alfred zipped by a hall monitor, who, taking her duties seriously, hollered way more louder than necessarily, "Hey! No running in the halls!"

He didn't listen, making a show to go to the bathroom. If he had to pee, then he'd run all he wanted to, but she didn't need to know that. Thankfully, nobody was in there at the moment, and he leaned over the sinks and gave his shirt collar a tug.

"Oh, man!" Alfred bemoaned the purple/blue mark near the crook of his neck. He scrubbed his palm over it, and when that didn't do anything, he dipped his hand under the faucet and tried to work water into it. "Fuck!"

No wonder Matthew and his friends were looking at him all funny. Alfred grabbed paper towels and dried his hands before trying to tug his shirt over the 'bruise.' Of course, it was in a perfect spot - a little too high for his collar to hide. He tipped his head back and groaned, "Fuuuuuuuuck."

Some kid, probably a ninth grader, came in, looked scared, and fled into one of the stalls. Alfred decided to high-tail back into the library instead of lamenting over the broadcast on his neck. He'd have to wait until he got home to do that.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Oh, yeah, your friends came up to _me _and kept asking about it. They're very weird."

"Ugh, yeah, weird." Alfred glanced around the other students rushing toward the exits. His hand found a new home over that certain spot on his neck. "Seriously, I can't believe he freaking-"

"What chowed on your neck like that?" Matthew didn't help matters with his snickers. "Yeah, coming from someone that's supposed to be all holy and everything."

"Shut up, Mattie! It's bad enough everyone else is talking about it. Jeez."

"Wait 'til Dad sees it!"

"No! It's just a hickey! Why's everyone freaking out over it?!"

"Why are you freaking out over it?" Matthew dipped into a mocking tone, "'It's just a hickey.'"

A group of girls passed by them on the other side of the street. "Bye, Alfie! Mwah, mwah!" They blew kisses at him before they all peeled into obnoxiously loud laughter.

At least Matthew put a hand to his mouth as he snickered this time. "Honestly? I think it's some kind of coping mechanism."

"For what?!"

"Oh, you know. One of the most popular guys in the senior class with all these girls pining after him, winds up coming out as gay? I mean, rumors were going around before, but now it's real? That's big talk."

"I didn't come out nothin'!"

"Ooh, yeah," Matthew bumped against Alfred's shoulder to get a good look, "It's more like the hickey did more of the coming out."

"Arthur's not a dude, anyway! He's an _angel!_"

"Yes, of course! An angel with a dick, and - oh, last I heard, that's something you have, too. Sorry, angel-sexual or not, you're still kind of gay."

"Well, you're swinging with a guy, too! Why the Hell is nobody talking about _that_, huh?!"

"You know what? I'm glad they're not. For once." Matthew finally chilled with the teasing. "It's...it's nice that Arthur flew by last night. I know you were worrying about him. Good for you."

Alfred grumbled, "It wasn't even for that long...I think." He glanced over when Matthew went super quiet. "What?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing!"

"Does Ivan stop by every now and again?"

"No. It's a hard journey back and forth like that. Trust me," Matthew laughed just a little, "I know."

Alfred scrubbed a palm over his neck. "It's...different when they're not here, huh? Quiet."

"Yeah. Quiet."


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

* * *

Alfred stared at his phone. It's only been a few days. He shouldn't really bother Arthur, even if he _would _pick up, but...

He stuck his face into his blankets and growled in annoyance at himself. With that out of the way, he dialed and put the phone to his ear.

Arthur wasn't going to answer, anyway, but maybe it could be some sort of relief to Alfred, that he was busy trying to get the bottom of things, to get his feathery ass back down here. One of the rings cut off, but the voicemail spiel didn't play.

"Hello?"

"Alfred."

Oh, shit, he really did pick up. "Arthur?!"

Arthur sounded impatient, "What happened?"

"Wha...why's something always got to happen, dude? I was just..." Alfred yanked on a string coming from his blanket, irritated how his own words jumbled, "Were you...did you stop by a couple of nights ago?"

A loud honk blew from the other side of the phone. Arthur didn't respond until another retaliated. "Yes."

"Did you use your mind powers on me?"

"Yes."

"Arthur!"

"I-!" Another, undiscernible noise. "You shouldn't worry about me."

"Are you worrying about _me_?"

"Yes, idiot!"

"How's that fair?!"

Arthur said something, but damn, all those noises!

"Sheesh! Where are you?!"

"San Francisco!"

"_Why _are you in San Francisco?!"

"You were calling me, and I had to hide from my bosses!"

"I..." Alfred clamped his mouth shut as his cheeks grew hot. "Oh."

"Yes! Why did you call?"

"Um...I wanted...I wanted to see if you're all right."

"I'm _fine._"

"Me, too."

"That's good to hear."

"I missed you."

"I have to go."

"I missed you, Arthur."

Rustling noises. "I-I missed you, too. Idiot."

The line went dead.

Alfred sighed, dropping his phone back onto his mattress and put his head in his hands.

A knock on his bedroom door startled the heebie-jeebies out of him. "Uh, yeah?!"

"Oh, Alfred!" Francis sung from the other side of the door like life was beautiful and bright. "We need to talk!"

"No, we really don't."

That meant, in parent language, to open the door and come in, ready to square up. "None of that!" Totally disregarding Alfred's glare of doom, Francis flounced to the bed and tossed an arm around his shoulders to plant a big kiss to the side of his head. "Argh, you. Matthew slipped up and told me that Prom is in a few days!"

Seriously. Prom. Francis was bugging him about...nothing close to the world ending or something. "Dad, Prom's in like, two weeks."

Francis sounded completely baffled, "Why didn't you say anything earlier?! We have to go out and get some flowers, and-"

"Ugh, no, no, I don't think I'm going to go."

"_What?!_"

Alfred flinched. The sky was falling! At least, according to Dad it was. He even did the whole 'smacking his hand to his chest in great horror' thing. "Alfred, this is your last dance for school _ever_! You went last year, why-"

"The same people that catered eleventh grade prom are catering to this one, and everyone got sick last year. Plus the music sucked. I rather stay home and eat something you make."

A small smile made its way to Alfred's face as his Dad bobbed his mouth up and down like a dummy. "Oh." The parental panic eased to a more gentle tone, "All right, my dear, if you both don't want to go, then so be it."

"Oh, Mattie's not going either?"

Francis shook his head, obviously disappointed, probably because he wasn't going to get pictures. That sounded like Matthew. He never enjoyed crowded, dark gatherings with a bunch of people he didn't particularly like. "You know what? I think that's a wonderful idea. We should go out for something to eat. Have a family night. That would be good, hm?"

Alfred just wanted to lay around at the moment, but later, he knew his stomach would bring vengeance. "Yeah...yeah, I think that's a good idea. Or we could shop for food and come back to make our own fancy-ass dinner." More like, Francis could make the fancy-ass dinner while Al cheered him and the food on.

Francis coaxed him into a half-hearted hug again. "Oh, my boy. I would love that...and I love you no matter what, don't you know?"

Alfred rolled his eyes. No wonder where Mattie gets his sappiness from. "Uh, yeah, Dad. A little hard not to notice, ha-ha."

Francis tapped the tip of his nose before getting off the bed. "Good. I do not like it when you have that ugly look on your face."

"Wow, thanks, Pops!"

"Bye-bye! I have to make a grocery list! A big one!"

The door shut behind Francis, leaving Alfred to his own devices again, but he found himself grinning again.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"I'm glad we're doing this instead."

Their puny town had no 'real' grocery stores, only a candy store and a gas station, but chips and nachos weren't really appropriate for fancy-ass family dinners, so the Bonnefoy's had to trek into the next town over for their mini-mart.

Matthew kept going, "If I had to watch a bunch of teachers dance to the _Macarena _again this year, I think I would pull my hair out."

Francis exclaimed in great disgust. "You will not! Your hair is beautiful and silky-smooth! Why would you even think of that?! You should think to pull _their _hair instead."

Alfred took that the wrong way and said, "Ew, Dad!"

"Oh, you! And you tell me I'm dirty-minded!"

"Yeah," Matthew goaded, "shame on you."

Alfred punched his brother's arm. "Shut up, Mattie."

"Boys," Francis warned. "Look, meat's on sale. Should we get steak or pork?"

"Steak!" Alfred said.

The same time as Matthew, "Pork, please."

They glared at one another. "Come on, man. You look like you need a big, juicy steak in your life."

"I don't know what that means, and I don't think I want to."

Francis held up a package with a fake exclamation of awe, "Ah, looks like we're having chicken tonight! That gives me ideas!" He put in his basket with a sharp look to his sons before hurrying down the aisle.

Alfred and Matthew gave each other a mini-showdown/stare down before shrugging and following Dad like hungry little ducks.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

The house didn't burn down. Well, Francis was doing the cooking, so _of course _it didn't burn down. Alfred laid out the plates and complained he was hungry, but kept a good distance between himself and the stove for good measure.

"Don't worry," Francis told him as he set down a large tray of casserole in the middle of the island counter. Heaven, here they come. "Your mother was not a very good cook, either. A shame that you didn't get my talent."

"Hey!" Alfred said, but he couldn't help a smile from the warm scents and sight of dinner. "Where's Mattie?"

"Right here!" A voice came from behind him. "Can't I go to the bathroom?"

"No! We got to eat!" As Matthew plopped beside him, Alfred reached over to grab a spoon to start digging in his treasure, but Francis slapped his eager fingers. "Ow! Dad!"

Francis settled in a stool across from them and made a beckoning motion with both of his hands. "No, I would like to hold hands and say grace, first." He mostly kept religion to himself, but something on Alfred's face made him insist, "This is the first night in a while where we sat down for dinner that we made...together, as a family.

"Now that I know that there really are..." Francis pointedly cleared his throat with a not-so-innocent bat of his eyes. "Perhaps it isn't such a waste of time to hope for a little bit of...heavenly guidance." When he ducked his head and closed his eyes, Alfred and Matthew copied.

Alfred opened one eye soon after Dad started mumbling to himself about being thankful for the food, even though he was the one that made it. Matthew had a bit of a blush going on as he kept his head down.

"You're supposed to be praying to the angels, Mattie."

Without opening his eyes, Matthew sneered, "Shut up, Al."

Francis continued, "And I would be thankful if_ both _my boys behaved themselves and decided to join me in prayer."

Alfred wreathed on his stool as their father squeezed his hand, and relented to close his eyes. Come on, what did he expect? It's not like _someone's _feathery ass would suddenly swoop in and ask for some casserole.

Francis squeezed their hands again, much gentler this time, and they all opened their eyes to smile at one another. "No matter where you two go from now, I will always love you and hope for the best."

"That was nice, Papa," Matthew murmured. "Thanks."

Alfred clapped his hands together, done with the crushing silence. "Great! Let's eat now!"

Before he could grab some grub, there was a knock on the door. They glanced between each other. Francis asked aloud, "I wonder who that could be at this time of night."

Alfred pelted out of the kitchen without even asking his brain for permission. "Oh, my God!" He squealed (yeah, it was pretty embarrassing) as he opened the door...only to slouch his shoulders at the pair standing on the porch. "What the...what are you guys doing here?"

Antonio tipped his head with a cheeky smile. "Greetings, friend. I heard that you had casserole you were willing to share?"

Alfred squawked, "What are you doing here, dude?!"

"Didn't you just hear him?" Lovino, the opposite of good vibes, snapped, "Clean the shit out of your ears! We want food. And it better be good food, damn it, or else!"

Matthew came over to investigate familiar voices. "Antonio?! What-"

Lovino answered for him, "Don't even ask!"

Alfred glanced to his brother, who was equally stumped. "Well, come in already!"

Antonio grinned, bright against the dusk sky. "Thank you. Come on, Lovino, be nice. They are feeding you, after all!"

"Agh, whatever. Thanks."

"Papa!" Matthew called, "Um...I think your prayers worked a little _too _well."

Francis looked blissfully confused, until the newcomers stepped into the kitchen, and his expression fell to one of barely-suppressed horror. "He's glowing."

"Dad!" Alfred rushed around the counter to whisper not-so-secretly, "We don't know if Lovino doesn't know-"

"Wow, that sure smells good!" Antonio announced loudly. "I don't mean to intrude, Mister Francis, but won't you have us?"

"O-of course! It would be rude to turn you away when..." Francis swallowed audibly, "When you came all the way here."

"Oh, don't worry, we were just about to close up the bookshop anyway."

"Ha-ha," Francis repeated like Antonio was about to liquefy his brains, "of course..."

Antonio put a hand to his shoulder and warmly smiled. A sudden shift passed over Francis' face as he turned to the casserole congregation. Maybe it was at that moment he learned not to be skeptical of angels and their Good Feelings anymore.

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

"Aren't you curious how Eyebrows is doing?"

Antonio's simple question made Alfred's heart start hammering as he opened the front door for his guests to leave. "Oh, y-yeah," a poor attempt at sounding cool. "How _is _he doing?"

Antonio sighed, "I'm afraid I don't know. I haven't heard from him in weeks."

"Weeks?" Wow, the floors looked very interesting all of a sudden. Why the Hell did Antonio even ask, anyway, if that was the case?

"Are you okay, friend?"

"Yep!" Alfred relayed in a not-okay squeak. "I'm swinging it!"

Antonio probably didn't know what that meant. Alfred wasn't completely sure what that was supposed to mean either. "You shouldn't give up on hope already!"

"I'm not!" Alfred tried to keep an edge from his tone. "It's just..." He glanced away from the slight shift in Antonio's tanned features, from a small smile to obvious doubt. "If I start thinking about him, and he's not here..."

"You miss him?"

"Uh, yeah!"

Antonio seemed pleased. The bastard. "I'll let him know the next time I see him! He's on a warpath up there, you know?"

"A _warpath? _Over me?"

Antonio shrugged and grinned. Whatever that meant. At that time, Lovino and Matthew came into the main hall, and Alfred's creeping panic had to wait for a different day.

"Look at you, Lovino!" Antonio sang while doing this little clap. Seriously. "All you needed was good food to get that pissy look off your face!"

That pissy look returned ten-fold. "Ugh. Thanks for dinner, you wackos." Lovino ducked when Antonio raised an arm, as if to lean against his shoulder, and made his grand escape out the door. "Let's go, you dork! It's getting late and I want to go home!"

"Wow," Matthew said when Alfred's words failed him. "You're welcome, I guess?"

The door shut, and Alfred busted out, "Are you _freaking _kidding me?!"

Matthew help up his hands. "Whoa, what's up?"

"What, nothing!" Alfred said too quickly, and he knew what Matthew was going to say next from a little smile coming to his face.

"Did you ask about Arthur?"

"Of course I asked about Arthur, man! What else am I supposed to do?!" Absolutely helpless, Alfred threw his hands in the air and angrily groaned at the ceiling. "It's stupid, I know! I'm trying not to think about it too much, but then Toni goes and starts rubbing it in like I'm totally chill about it. I'm not! It's not okay!"

"I don't think he was rubbing it in, Al."

"Yeah? What makes you say that?"

Unfazed, Matthew pointed out, "If things _are _looking up...wait Heaven is up in the first place, but..." He shook his head. "Ugh! Antonio probably has a good reason to be chill about the whole thing! He doesn't seem to worried about things with...you know, Arthur. Maybe everything is working out and you won't be waiting too long for him to come back, now."

Alfred took a step back from the strange creature. "Whoa, looks who's Mister Sunshine now!"

Matthew rolled his eyes, but wound up grinning as he brutally punched Alfred's arm. "Come on, Dad will get mad if we leave that mess in the kitchen. Maybe afterwards...we could play some racing games?"

"Yeah, maybe." Rubbing his tender arm, Alfred ditched those sludgy feelings inside himself and sprouted a big smile. "I'd definitely like that."

"Definitely like getting your butt kicked, more like."

"Hey, you ass!"

"Hey, that's my line!"

* * *

_A.N.- Yooooo! The Prom thing is real! It happened my senior year. The DJ sucked, nobody wanted to dance to him and his shoddy club remixes, and everyone got sick off of the food. Talk about dodging a bullet!_


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

* * *

_POV from the Eyebrows._

* * *

Arthur was getting real sick of this crap.

The telephone pole that fell on a bus full of hippies? Understandable. He was in the general area and it would have been rude to let Mei make sure all their unlucky souls got to Heaven all by herself.

Oh, Elizabeta 'accidentally' stopped a human man's piano from collapsing on top of him, and needed an angelic witness to file a report to the Big Wings? Bit of a voyage, but all right, Arthur owed her one from a certain demon's neutralization.

Wait, seriously? That power outage at that hospital was _across the planet._ He had no business there. Of course he absolutely could not refuse to leave all those poor life-support-dependent souls to wander the Earth, unless he was no longer taking his duties to heart! He would never hear the end of it...and may never touch the surface again.

No, Erika, he didn't want to have a damn _tea party_, he had things to do, places to go, souls to harvest. Well, all right, maybe a cup or two wouldn't hurt. Oh, look how another week slipped by, just from flapping back and forth and around the globe.

Arthur was a harvester, in case his superiors must have forgot. He sat himself in a town, watched his people grow, and ripped their souls from the Earth when they were done with whatever humans do these days. Cry themselves to sleep?

Never mind, they always did that.

So, obviously, Arthur was pissed off. His wings quaked whenever he stood before those bastards perched on their nice little cozy cloud, with their expressionless beaks and muzzles pressed close to one another as they whispered how they could prolong his suffering. They would sense it, make a note of it, and then send him away with a wave of many hands to his next foolish errand.

The golden spires, the crisp clean air, the eternal glowing bathing over every angel's wings...and yet he found his eyes glued to the sharp shapes of buildings against the soft slopes of land below. He always had. Arthur looked around. The sun was visiting the other side of the world at the moment. He did not need another stray thought to slip through the clouds and plummet toward the surface.

His idiot slept with his face in a pillow. "How many times do I have to tell you?" Arthur kept his voice to a whisper as he drug his fingers amongst Alfred's honey locks, squishing the urge to share the wonderful feelings that he found that - yes! - he had as well. "You could suffocate yourself, and I wouldn't be here to..."

Arthur sighed. The hot pokers driving him to a frenzy for their last embrace had long withered away against the heavy feelings pulling on his wings. He was tired now. So, so tired. So tired of flying. So tired of pulling himself away. So tired of doing everything everyone else wanted and not getting anything _he _wanted.

The longer he gazed at Alfred's face, this odd churning sensation inside of his corporeal being grew stronger and stronger, plaguing his every waking moment with thoughts that he knew were wrong. Or, at least, thoughts he was told during his whole life, were wrong. Something became more important to him than Heavenly duty once again.

His superiors were displeased.

"We know where you have been."

"Yeah? It was on my own time."

"Yes, your own time to _sleep_."

"You are able to collapse from exhaustion."

Arthur wondered if that was a vague threat.

"Brother Lukas of Norway is in need of help."

Arthur squeezed his eyes shut. No, not Norway. That's in the opposite direction from the tugging in his heart.

One of the three ignored his obvious blight, turning to the other two with an ivory upturned palm. They shared a snap of light, before a scroll unraveled at Arthur's bare feet. Names of people that were due to come home and be reborn again.

When he didn't say anything, an echoing voice prodded, "To ameliorate your distraction."

A slap of heat seized Arthur's face. "_No! _How dare you call him..." His voice died into a pitiful croak as their smooth features gazed vacantly. "I-I have brought up more souls in the time I have known him than I have the whole time I took residence there!"

"Yes, we know. As you should. Now, your assistance is necessary for a new task at hand."

"Tino is in that area, why-"

Their voices boomed, "You are given a duty, and you shall carry it out without condition in the name of God."

Arthur collapsed to his knees and pressed his face to the floor, against the world shuddering around him. "I have, I have! Don't you see I have? For years, I've done so. For years I have repented, begging for forgiveness, to be equal to every other angel again. For what?!"

A long finger lifted and neared Arthur, threatening to squash him into a mess of feathers. "You do not question the mistakes you brought upon yourself!"

"A mistake for what?! For falling in love? Don't you see that I had no control over that?!"

Apparently, they didn't. "Not close!" The humanoid's lion face drew their teeth back in a sharp snarl, "Your duties to us come first, but when it came time for a certain soul to join us, you refused! You were sent to a battlefield to claim a soldier's soul. Yet you turned your wings on us and _healed _him! Bypassing the fated date of his death and ignoring your blessed duty to harvest him, therefore forfeiting his next life to start again!"

Arthur clenched his jaw as a furious wail threatened to take his body. "I relented! I followed through in the end! I...I gave him back..." Feelings boiled over, and a desolate squall came out of his throat, "I gave him back to you."

The trio of beings turned to one another. "What shall we do with him? His feelings are strong and true."

"Too strong. They threaten to cloud his judgment of what is best for himself and everyone around him."

"Hm, his judgment has always been skewed...we must think on this one."

"Sk-skewed," Arthur echoed. He tried to scoff, almost pitying himself, but it came out much more pathetic than he wanted it to, "Please! I have been _miserable!_ I know should have put Heaven first. I know I should love God and everything of His unconditionally but I just _couldn't._ I forced myself to, and it was not right. It never felt right!"

"Perhaps it was too soon for your spirit to serve us."

One of the other beaked beings raised their hand at their twin. "A moment, please." They stared at Arthur with vague interest.

"But now?" Arthur, in pleading and almost to himself, "Now, I want to rejoice, praise God, thank Him for blessing my presence with this man. This silly little fool that I have..." He clutched his hands closer to his chest wracking with sobs, "Even if it's an insignificant amount of time in your eyes, I want to love Alfred! To bathe in his arms, to cherish him as a gift from God! Why is that so much to ask for?!

"Please...let me be with him. It's what I know best. Please. If not as I am now, then let me love him as a man."

One of their voices peaked in wonder, "You would forfeit your current life for a sheer _sliver _of a chance to hear of this human in your next life?"

Arthur kept his face down. "Yes!"

"Most interesting..."

"The human's scroll, please."

Shuffling. Then quiet. Arthur lifted his head, exposing his flushed, damped cheeks to the archangels before him. They huddled around a shimmering sheet, almost like human paper, but not quite, and muttered to themselves. "Wha..."

"As if luck gazed upon this one."

"Yes, from a stray feline in the streets of a kingdom called 'Rome,' taken close to someone in pity."

"A small boy, never a chance to grow beyond the sickness of black boils coming from his skin."

"A busybody, eager to throw himself into what the souls around him were doing."

"And whom they were doing it with."

"Right out a window."

"A woman lost in the ocean amongst the wreckage of an 'unsinkable' vessel."

"Offered herself instead of her children."

"Yes, remarkable enough to appreciate her sacrifice...for her descendants."

Arthur shook his head. None of these sounded familiar or remarkable to him.

Until, "A man with great lust in his eyes, but led himself to what he believed to be true."

"Caught up in chaos of great bloodshed, and swept by the will of his leaders."

"Remained true to the right in his heart until his end."

Arthur's wings grew warm as he remembered ruby-brown eyes following his backside in the midst of war.

A moment of silence as they stilled, keeping their placid faces toward the 'paper.' They started in union, "A young man, as quick as the fire from which he bore, escapes his end to seek means larger than life."

"This Alfred..."

"Alfred," Arthur murmured. "He's...you're saying I've known him all along?"

They picked up their heads, but he was only vaguely aware of their unwavering stares. He sat back on his legs, scoffing at this teeny, tiny, wee little microscopic thin possibility striking his heart. Same soul, different body - he had fallen in love with the idiot twice now!

"What a sheer coincidence," one of them said. "Not often do we cross paths with a previous life."

Arthur mumbled, "Even after I left everything behind..." He clamped his hands over his face, as if that could keep the glow around his body from flaring out in unbridled joy. "An ocean and some more distance away...we still found each other."

One of them seethed, "It's the same soul that disrupted his mind long ago, and has done so again!"

A sound almost like laughter rumbled from the group, "Intriguing, even to us."

"Such a small, small occurrence."

They rolled the scroll shut, and it disappeared in a glint of gold. "You encourage it to happen again?"

"We encourage the growth of spirits and goodwill."

"In bias, we shall watch in curiosity."

"We don't agree with it but if two of us believe in it, then we will pray that it will prove to be better than the alternative. For everyone."

They looked to Arthur. "Rise now, child."

Arthur scrambled to his feet with fists balled tightly against his sides. "So what?"

"Bless your heart with patience."

Arthur took a sharp breath, then shakily exhaled. "Yes?"

"You will assist your brethren in the North. After, you are free to resume your harvest as it was and has been."

"And as it shall continue to be..."

"Yes!" Arthur almost cried right then and there. Happy tears, this time, at least. "Yes, of course! I will show him the life of light, and we will both walk into it. _Together_."

"See to it then. For life itself."

Arthur copied their praying gesture. "For life itself." He hurried away, trying not to tumble onto his face as their eyeless gazes stuck to his back as he hopped from their perch. Holding his arms out for a short moment, the angel let himself fall to Earth.

The ground rapidly approached, and Arthur cackled at the world below him. He will swoop to that too-yellow of a house, throw open the door, shatter the windows and lights to fill the rooms to the brim with his light, and swaddle that man in wings upon wings and never let him go for as long as they lived in these lives.

Arthur threw his wings out, skittering to a stop on a flat's rooftop. Tucking his wings against himself, he peered off the ledge, to the letter sign sitting outside of the old school building.

_Congratulations Senior Class!_

Tossing a little smirk to the vehicles below, Arthur made a hard mental note of the following date and leaped from the building. No longer to the Bonnefoy house, although he waited moons to come back. No, he could wait a few days more if it meant he could have a grand reentrance.

* * *

_A.N.- YAAAAAAA DUDE. I've been waiting so long for this chapter to come into play! I think it's safe to say it was one of my favorites to write, despite being on the smaller side. At first, this chummy idea of writing Arthur's whole backstory came forward, and I was like, "Nooooo I'm already writing a story." So I stuck with just a chapter. Just. One chapter._


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

* * *

Sleep? What is sleep? Sounds to Alfred like some sort of tale for little kids to get them to behave themselves. Not that he _wasn't _behaving himself, but...

Graduation. The last day of school forever and ever with no turning back to the carefree days of just cutting and pasting and coloring the whole day away. Now _that..._that definitely seemed like a dream.

"Dude! We're graduating tomorrow!"

Matthew squealed in half-fright, half-delight right along with him.

The morning of, however...ugh. Alfred built up so much stress through the rapidly approaching months that he went above and beyond freaked out, and now he was just tired. Almost tired enough to fall asleep and drool over Dad's breakfast. Let him say that Francis wasn't too flattered about that, and be done with it.

The ceremony was something else. Well, the parts Alfred didn't slept through, were something else. Sappy speeches, reminiscing, looking back through the years, it was so sad that he found himself trying not to tear up, too, especially with his brother obviously hovering, eagerly waiting for water works to spill so he could tease about it.

They were called to get their diplomas around the first half hour, so there was that _entire _time of names coming and going, and _yawn. _Matthew rudely shook his shoulder not even five minutes later, and Alfred snapped his head up.

"Alfred, they're throwing the hats!"

Oh crap, so it was more than five little minutes. Alfred whooped and threw his white cap off his head with as much force as possible, cackling how it almost touched the ceiling, and then hit some classmate in the face, just a few rows back. Ditching the ugly thing, he threw himself onto his brother to squeeze the life out of him.

Matthew was totally ready, smacking his back with eager hands, "We did it! We did it! No more waking up at those hours anymore!"

Of course he thought about sleeping in, the chump. Alfred tried to laugh, playing cool, but his throat decided to play games as he clutched his brother's gown, "It's all over, man! We got to be like, legit adults now!"

"What's that?" Matthew shouted in his ear, "You're crying?! You said you wouldn't!"

Alfred yanked away to wipe at his eyes. "Don't be an ass! It's a big deal!"

Matthew punched his arm, but Alfred suspected he was hiding his big, manly tears behind that smile. He said something, but everyone around them were hustling and shouting like the school auditorium was a night club.

Alfred smiled and nodded, hoping that was a good answer. Matthew turned around and started weaving through the sea of beiges and whites. "Mattie, wait!" He panicked, but it was too late. Well, crap, at least could he get his hat back? He scanned the floor beneath people's trampling feet and kicked over some abandoned caps, peeking at the names.

There his ugly thing was! As soon as Alfred grabbed it, a butt bumped into his face, and he clamped a hand over his glasses so he wouldn't lose those, too. A girl spun around, gasped, and squealed, a short warning before she tackled him.

"Alfie! There you are! Come on! We got to get pictures!"

"Whoa, hey-" She latched onto his hand and towed him into the crowd. Alfred didn't have a chance to refuse.

Most of his friends congregated in a tight-knit circle, shielding away from everyone else wandering around for their families like lost puppies, and snapped picture after picture - duck faces included.

"Thank God, we're finally done!"

"I'm going to make a bonfire later and burn all my old tests! Who's with me?!"

"Oh, my gosh, I have to find my mom! She's probably like, hyperventilating in a corner somewhere!"

"Guys, remember, I have a party this Saturday!"

"Alfie! You're spacing off! Smile!"

"Huh, what?" Alfred grinned like a dope as one of his bro-friends slung and arm over his shoulder and held up a peace sign. "Yo, give me the camera. It's your turn."

The girls squished together, cheekily smiling, and one of them even tossed her leg out, momentarily distracting his eye. Alfred never took the picture as he stared ahead.

"Did you do it yet?"

"Alfred?"

Alfred put the camera in one of the girl's confused hands.

"Wha...hey, Alfred!"

"Hey!"

"Yo, uh, Al?"

"No way," Alfred murmured to himself as he weaved between a small family, who was oblivious to a soft glow approaching. Some dude tried to get in his way, but he shoved himself behind his back, ignoring an ignorant yell as a familiar pair of eyebrows escaped their own warm-bodied peril.

Arthur slowed, looking surprised for a moment before a smirk crept up one side of his mouth.

Thank you, Heaven, for gifting this delicious and wonderful (and fancy-ass suited) meal right in front of Alfred. Whatever Arthur was going to say, ripped away, along with himself, as Al threw his arms around him and swept him off the floor.

"Alfred!" Arthur clutched onto his shoulders for his dearest life as colors and lights and the freaked out faces of Alfred's classmates flew pass their eyes again and again until Alfred stumbled to a stop before he would drop his precious cargo. "Good Lord, you idiot-"

"Are you here?" Alfred practically shouted in his face over everyone's jabbering, "Are you really, _really _here now?!"

Arthur seemed to be scared shitless for a moment before he got a hold of himself. "Of course I am." He lifted a cool hand to Alfred's cheek with a funny little grin that made his eyes and heart flutter. "Or at least I better be, or else there's going to be Hell to pay."

"Ha, funny that an angel would say that."

"Hush, now." Arthur's dazzling green eyes slid close as he pressed a cool kiss to Alfred's lips. Before Alfred could get too into it, he pulled away and tucked his head onto his shoulder.

"Oh." Alfred downplayed the freak-out in his chest with a breathless laugh, "Here I was hoping you'd mack on me like crazy."

"Later," Arthur promised.

Something flashed for a quick moment, startling the both of them to pick up their heads and squint at the approaching group of students.

"Nice bro-hug, man!" One of Alfred's guy-friends had a wicked grin on his face and his phone raised in his hands like he just snapped a picture.

"Guys, guys," Alfred shook his arm at them as Arthur put a hand to the side of his face. "No pics right now. Come on."

"Aw, come on!" His friends giggled, making his ears grow hot.

"It's nice to _finally _see you again, Mister K!"

"Yeah, what made you come back?"

A chill ran up Alfred's back as Arthur gripped his gown in his fists and sneered at the busy-bodies, "Come now, this isn't a day about me. It's your graduation ceremony. I'm sure your families are looking to take pictures of all your..._wonderful _gowns."

Alfred gnawed on the inside of his cheeks to keep from busting out in laughter at the stupid looks his friends gave each other. "Yeah, I got to find my Dad, too. He's probably ripping his hair out, or crying in a corner right now. Right, Artie?" He went on without waiting for a cheap response, "I'll see you at that BBQ coming up, okay? Later!"

"Oh, oh! Bye, Alfie!"

Girlish giggling teased their backs as the pair hurried to vanish within the crowd. The only thing Alfred could ever want in that moment was to pull Arthur to a secret spot so they could be alone, but they were surrounded by people, and for once, it irritated him. The smaller hand against his squeezed, and Good Feelings rushed up his arm and filled his lungs with such a strong yet wonderful floaty feeling, he almost turfed right on top of a random toddler that was let loose in the auditorium. He didn't feel as irritated now.

When they spotted Francis pacing between two clumps of families, holding the side of his hand over his eyes and standing on his tip-toes feebly peek over their heads, Alfred let loose a loud cackle. He snapped his head to the sound, and gasped, meeting them halfway with a little jig and his arms held out for a big hug.

"Hey, Dad-"

"Oh, my baby boy!" Francis slung his arms around Alfred's shoulders and rocked back and forth, already sobbing, "Look at you! I was watching the whole thing! I saw you and your brother get your diplomas and everything!"

"Well, I'd hope so!" Alfred laughed and pulled away when Dad clung on for a moment too long. "Have you seen Mattie?"

"Nope! Nope, still looking!" Francis spun around with a sharp flick of hair over his shoulder as he flounced toward the crowd leaking out of the building.

Arthur dryly noted, "Why, hello to you, too."

"Matthew! Where's my little Matthew?"

Alfred belted across the auditorium, "Mattie!" He told Arthur, "Hey, if you climb on my back, maybe we'll catch him!"

"I am _not _doing that." With that, Arthur split up to scour the other side of a group of old people.

"Party pooper." Alfred pushed by some slow-pokes blocking the way to the exits, waving his arms over his head and bellowing, "Mattie! Mattie!"

Did he look nuts? Sure, but it worked as Matthew came from outside, the jerk! His family was looking all over for him and he was...

Already finding someone else.

Alfred didn't know why he felt surprised to see Ivan again. Maybe he mistook it for being creeped out by that little grin he always seemed to have, like he plotted something mischievous. It couldn't be raining fireballs onto the school, because they were waiting for that and it ruined the element of surprise. Matthew pointed a finger-gun at him and 'shot' with a little wink.

Alfred threw his hands to his chest and pretended to fall backwards.

"Hey, you!"

"Hey, you!" Alfred dramatically craned his head back to scrunch his face at Ivan. "You're here, too!"

Ivan seemed pretty chipper about it, "Surprise!"

"Uh-huh, yeah!" Alfred pressed closer to his brother, swishing his hand closer to himself in secret. "Um, Mattie? Arthur's back."

"Huh?" Matthew tossed a sour look around the auditorium before latching onto his target. "Oh. Have you spoken with him yet?"

"N-not really." Alfred didn't like that tone. "Not enough time, you know?" He let out a giggle as he jogged ahead to let Dad know he found Mattie. Arthur must have found him again, and had his arms crossed with one eyebrow expertly raised from whatever Francis was swishing a sassy hand about.

"...I'm sure you angels are _so _busy to stop by from time-to-time. I'm just surprised that you decided to come back here and now during a _family _event. Strange timing."

"Dad..."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "How nice to feel so welcome."

"Dad!" Alfred latched onto Francis' frilly dress shirt and gave him a shake, speaking louder than necessary in his ear, "I found Mattie! Mattie's here!"

Francis spun around, and his face went from a nasty glare to surprise, to near pee-himself-excitement. "Oh, there you are!" He forced a hug with a great swish of his arms. "Come, come, I need to take pictures!" To Ivan, "That includes you, too!"

"Pictures? Should I strike a pose?"

Oh, great, there's the camera. Alfred should have known he couldn't escape Francis' planned montage, but that expression on the dumb creature's face was worth it. He slung an arm over Matthew's shoulders and obnoxiously squished against his side with a big grin.

Francis picked up his head from peeking through his camera, and stared at Arthur for a long moment. "You, too. Try to make yourself look pretty while you are here."

Arthur scoffed, not budging until he relented with a huff to stand in front of the trio. "Is that necessary?"

"You know it is. Short people in the front!"

Alfred tried to keep smiling as Arthur sent a glare behind his shoulder, to Ivan. "I am not short!" Oh, but he was, next to that big lug. "It's just..._he's _too tall."

"Too tall?" Ivan asked. "I am sorry to hear you were not stretched out when you were a baby."

Alfred laughed, "Ha-ha, what the fuck?"

Francis waved his camera around, "Hello! We're supposed to be smiling for photos, not getting pissy!"

"Yeah, Artie!"

Arthur's face immediately flushed pink as he glared into the camera. "Oh, shut it."

Honestly, if his family weren't there, Alfred would totally be all over that ASAP.

Francis suggested, "How about...we say 'cheese?'"

Ivan asked, "Why?"

"_So you can pretend to look happy!_"

"That's fair."

Looks like Alfred had to smile for everyone else, but then his cheeks started to uncomfortably tingle.

Francis pulled his camera from his face, looking stumped. "Err...how about I get a few with just my boys this time? Nothing against you two, uh, _supernaturals_, but...Arthur, ugh, your glowing is throwing off my aesthetic."

"Oh, thank God."

Alfred grabbed a good hold around Matthew and plucked him from the floor with a big grunt. "Smile, Mattie!" He almost immediately dropped him, "Holy crap, you're heavy!"

Matthew punched his arm before he even got his own footing. "Hey, you ass!"

Francis beamed, "Ah, there are my boys! You both look so handsome, and..." His face flipped to a strong look of disgust. "Hey!"

Alfred and Matthew glanced behind themselves. Another student gasped, dropping the funky gestures he was making behind their backs and scrammed. "You little-! Don't go messing up my photo-shoot! Get back here!"

"Woo!" Alfred yelled after them, "Go, Dad!"

"Yeah, get him!" Matthew clapped before holding up a hand.

Alfred knew exactly what he wanted. They high-fived and smacked each other on the backs. "Dude! Let's go get some freaking ice-cream or something!"

"Dude! I was thinking the same thing!"

"Dude! I think that deserves another high-five!"

"It totally does!"


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

* * *

"Dad, come on. Don't be lame."

"I'm not being lame! I just don't want you to go over there tonight!"

"We hung out and spent so much time together today! We even got ice cream!" And Francis cried a lot. But, yeah, ice cream. "Plus, I've been waiting _months _for Artie to come back and we got to talk about some stuff-"

"I think you should stay here. It's a family day!"

"Seriously?!" Alfred slammed his book bag of clothes on the island counter to make a point, "Ivan's chilling in Mattie's room right now! _That's _not really family-like! Why can't I go to Arthur's place for the rest of the night?"

"It's getting late!"

"We could be there in like," Alfred snapped his fingers, "that! We're not walking around 'late' at night!" It wasn't even night yet. Francis kept staring at him from across the kitchen counter, hunched over with his jaw set in a crooked but pissy way. He so did not look fabulous at that moment. "Is it because you're mad at Arthur-"

"Yes, it's because I am mad at that Arthur! He's been gone for what, _months, _and suddenly he shows up on an important day for _us_?! Who does he think he is?!"

"Um, he's an angel of-"

"I don't care about this angel business! He didn't even send a post card! How could you not be the least bit irked about the situation?" Francis slapped a hand to his chest, getting dramatic, "My heart _aches _for you, my boy! I had to sit there and watch your sad face go by the whole time he was gone!"

Alfred glanced around the kitchen floor, in case a black hole opened up and he could jump into it. "Okay, yeah, I'm 'irked,' whatever, and I wish that he didn't have to leave for so long, too, but his bosses were being jerks and didn't want him partying down here, so it's not like he _didn't _want to be here, it's because he _couldn't!_"

"Well, whoever these angel-bosses are, I ought to give them a piece of my mind! Making everyone wait like that!"

"Dad! Don't say that! They could like, come down and smite your ass!"

"I don't care! My son's heart was on the line! That Arthur should have told them to pluck their wings or something and came down here anyway! Or at least write a letter! He didn't write any letters, did he?"

"What, ugh, no! If he did that, the Big Wings would probably smite his ass, too!"

"This supernatural creature business is driving me up the wall!"

Alfred hustled around the counter to give his Dad an emergency hug. "Dude, Dad, it's all right. Why don't you go upstairs and write a latest story and let it all out?"

"Don't try to chase me up-" Francis stopped feebly struggling to gawk at somebody in the doorway. "Argh! How long were you standing there?!"

"Long enough."

Alfred let go of his Dad, holding up his hands as Francis rubbed his arms and sneered at Arthur, "Ah, well, don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Apologies," Arthur didn't spare any. "If you rather me court your son the old-fashion way, then we will stay in the living room with you close by. Or perhaps we could leave the bedroom door open-"

"No, no!" Francis flapped his hands at Arthur, but kept his scowl to the wall. "Just go already. I am done with seeing you tonight."

"Dad!"

"Good," Arthur gestured for Alfred to come closer. "We'll be on our merry way then."

Alfred glanced between the two bitter old folks before giving his Dad a quick hug. "Have a good night. Seriously!"

"Yes, I..." Francis' face softened as he ruffled a hand through Alfred's hair. "All right, I will for you. Be careful-"

"Yep!" Alfred skirted around the counter and snatched his bag before Francis could slip a vague threat in there. "See you tomorrow, Pops!"

"You better-"

Alfred stopped listening as Arthur latched onto his arm and towed him to the front door. "Yeah, yeah! Goodnight!" The door shut a little too loudly as they marched down the porch and into the warm dusk skies. "I kind of expected you to...you know. _Poof!_"

"What, right in front of your father?"

"Oh, I guess not."

"Besides," that pissy look on Arthur's face eased to something much more attractive as he stared up at Alfred, "I thought you would appreciate more time to spend together."

"I do! I really do!"

"_Hmph, _good." Arthur pressed closer so they were walking shoulder-against-shoulder, and for once, Alfred didn't feel the need to rush in and fill the silence. "I thought we had a lot to talk about. Isn't that what you told your father?"

"Yeah, it's what I told him, all right." Alfred grinned from the flood of Good Feelings running up his arm. "I don't think I have much to say right now. Let's see...uh, I missed you, I think you look hot in that suit, and I'm freaking ecstatic that I don't have to do English essays anymore." He shrugged, playing cool against the early Summer heat. "Yeah, not much."

"It looks like I'll have to do much of the talking, then."

They grinned at one another before running across the street. Alfred repeated, "I missed you. Like, _you _you. I mean, yeah, I missed those mind-touches, too, but..."

"What, these?" Arthur squeezed his arm, and little stars danced before Alfred's eyes. Just like a shot of drugs. "Careful, love, don't fall off the sidewalk and break something again."

Alfred clutched Arthur's suit jacket, so if he went down, they would both hit concrete. Laughing like maniacs, they paused for a moment so they could squish their faces together before bumbling down the sidewalk again.

"I would have came back as soon as possible if..." Arthur sighed and shook his head, hopefully shaking away any bad thoughts. "Believe me...or not, I have considered telling my superiors to 'pluck their wings' _plenty _of times when I was up there, but what good would that do if I am a pile of feathers and innards?"

Alfred offered, "It wouldn't do _me _any good, that's for sure! So...thanks, for _not _telling them to go screw themselves."

"Oh, you're _very _welcome."

A truck ran up the road, then suddenly squealed as it slammed on its breaks, much to the dismay of both sets of ears. A couple of girls cackled and flapped their hands from the truck bed as a familiar face popped out from the passenger side, "Yo! Al!" One of his bro-friends from school, "Where are you going, man? The party's that way!"

Alfred laughed and held up his middle finger.

"There's going to be tons of snacks, my dude!"

"I already got my own!"

Arthur scoffed, "Alfred!"

"Yeah? Like this?" His friend made a fist and gave him an inappropriate gesture in return, laughing as he ducked back into the cab and sped off with a great roar.

"Nice company," Arthur dully noted. "Graduation party my arse. That's just a shoddy excuse to get together and get piss drunk."

"Ha-ha, look who's talking!"

"Excuse me, I have plenty of excellent reasons to hit the bottle. Thank you."

"Yeah, you're excused."

They approached the motel, and Arthur suddenly asked real nastily, "Why spend a special night with a bitter drunkard, then, instead of being with your friends?"

"Uh, what?" Alfred wondered if he breathed funny or something. Arthur turned his head with a snide smile creeping up one side of his face. Oh, _oh, _wow, Al felt kind of dumb. He laughed it off, "Let's see, going to one out of fifty different grad parties...or..." He snagged Arthur's waist as soon as they went up the porch. "Making out with an angel? Even if he _is _a bitter drunkard, I think I can help with that."

Whatever that look on Arthur's face was as they got all against one another, it made Alfred all kinds of crazy hot. "Oh, I'm sure they'd understand."

Enough blabbering for now. They started to make out. Not to sound romantic, or anything, but after thinking back over and over again to that quick moment in the middle of long months without the angel's touch, Alfred didn't really want to dote on anything else. He squished Arthur against the metal door, using his body instead of dumb words to beg for more hickies on his neck.

One of the arms around his shoulders slid away to jiggle the door knob. "Alfred, wait."

"Nope," Alfred accidently grunted like some kind of wild gorilla when Arthur pushed on his chest. "No waiting."

"Ha-ha, you idiot, stop, I have to unlock the door." Going against his words, Arthur stuck his lips against Alfred's for a long moment before yanking away and turning his back on him.

Oh, Hell no. Alfred wrapped his arms around his slender body and bumped against his backside a few times. He whistled obnoxiously, "Woo, hey, I think I like this better!"

"Stop-" Something clattered onto the porch. Arthur wheezed in glorious laughter, "Fuck! I dropped the damn keys!" He jabbed a bony elbow into Alfred's stomach, not sounding the least bit rude about it, "Knock it off, you idiot."

"Ooh, baby, now you're bending down for me? Dang, this is like a little party of my own!"

Arthur planted a palm against his door to try to straighten himself (or be as straight as he possibly could be), and swatted the side of Alfred's head. "You fucking idiot. Get inside already."

Alfred glanced around in second thought of acting freaky out in the open like that, and yep, turns out they had an audience the whole time. That nosy neighbor lady had been gawking at them over a cigarette. Al lifted a hand. "Uh, hi!"

She slowly shook her head, traumatized, but before she could say anything, Arthur latched onto Alfred's arm and yanked him inside his motel room. "Idiot," he sounded breathless as he gave Alfred another hungry kiss before shoving the door close. Or at least, he tried to. He pressed his hands to the metal and shoved, but the thing didn't budge.

Alfred tossed his book bag on the bed and rolled his eyes as he jammed his shoulder against the metal. Teamwork versus old metal door, teamwork wins. With attitude, of course, "Man, screw this door, all right? It ruined my life enough times already."

"Forget it." Much more kindly, Arthur coaxed his arms around Alfred's shoulders and gave him a tender squeeze, "We're here now. _Alone._"

"Yeah!"

Arthur pulled back a little to move with some kind of purpose, and Alfred uncertainly followed, but stumbled to the side when they went back to their original spot. Then again. He clumsily stepped over his own feet, desperate to catch up when he realized Arthur was trying to _dance _with him. "Hey, wait!" He thoughtlessly ducked under their joined hands when they raised over their heads. "Are you trying to make me do the _girl _part?!"

"Don't be daft." Arthur clamped a surprisingly sturdy hand over Alfred's back to tug him closer again. "Dances don't know these 'girl' parts, these 'manly' parts. Why should we?" He started to pull to one direction, then gently guided Alfred the other way. "Only one, and two. One, two." They repeated the motion, a bit more gracefully this time. Arthur's voice became a soft murmur, "One. Two."

"Isn't it nice?" He steadily (and...softly?) gazed into Alfred's eyes, not relenting even if Alfred couldn't hold.

Alfred's cheeks flushed hot, and it seeped all the way down to a tingly feeling on the bottom of his feet. It was different than angels' Good Feelings, but whatever it may be, Artie seemed to immensely enjoy the view. "Dude..."

Much more eloquently, "Yes, love?"

"I think..." _Gulp. _For such a chatterbox, words weren't usually so difficult to blurt out. Deep breath. Something to keep that wonderful smile on Arthur's face, "I think I just fell in love with you."

Ugh, Alfred sounded like a stuttering someone who stuck a metal utensil in an electrical socket. "Why are you suddenly whispering?" Arthur teased, but was totally unfazed by the copious but figurative amounts of cheese. "There is no need for that...between us."

Alfred struggled with the urge to duck his head when they were the only people in the motel room. "Did you want me to scream, instead?"

Arthur lightly scoffed, "Idiot. I wanted to say something to you for a while now."

"Something good?"

"Of course."

Alfred pulled Arthur closer, prompting a smile to the floorboards.

"I have looked after the very young, the very old, and the very sickly for many years. Yet...and _yet..._I was suddenly gifted to look after you, out of the blue like that. A part of me cannot help but think there is higher reason for it than what I am told."

Alfred couldn't take his eyes off of him. "Yeah?"

"Yes." Arthur looked up again, and cupped a cool palm to Alfred's cheek. "Do you believe in soul mates?"

With him looking like that, how could Alfred say no? He nodded.

Plainly, "Then I have loved you for a very long time."

Arthur wasn't talkative anymore. Alfred caught his smile turning shy as he pressed his face into his shoulder, and found himself grinning like he won the lottery. Actually, he _did _win the lottery, in a way, but...

Argh, never mind. Let them just stand there like idiots and hold onto one another with all the time they had left in the world.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

* * *

The world was theirs.

They ate imported chocolate covered strawberries in bed before diving into lavender fields stretching into the horizon. Some farmer rushed to their spot, flapping his arms and screaming in horrified French at the elopers, but by the time he reached them, there was nobody there.

Cool air carried their giggling and occasional yelp of fright from shadows of gothic buildings in stony streets of Eastern Europe, and if anyone were to peek out of their windows, they would swear they heard a ghost.

Black sand sank between their toes in Caribbean islands as they munched away on the locally-offered fruits and watched cool guys flip over ocean waves as they tried to surf.

Toward the other side of the world, they marveled at technology integrating with old life, and sampled some traditional food like...well, let's not get into macabre detail over what ended up in their stomachs...or the toilet.

Also notable, that one time in way-down-south Australia, someone snuck an enormous and furry spider down the angel's shirt. Despite preaching about Life being sacred and unique, when Life ran down his shirt, it wasn't precious enough to freak out and stomp it into the ground.

Last, but certainly not least, Alfred learned that Arthur was ticklish right between the inner sides of his wings, no matter how many times he repeatedly denied it.

After a long month of flapping back and forth, throwing their backs to the wind and just acting plain dumb and careless, they had to give up their festivities. There were charges to look after, their money was almost completely drained, and honestly, partying got really tiresome after a while. Who knew?

They dropped into town late at night, too late to go back to the Bonnefoy house, as that would probably give Francis the heebie-jeebies. Okay, the real reason was that Alfred was too tired to walk all the way to the other side of the town, and Arthur had just snuggled underneath their bed covers, obviously not eager to haul his winged-self over there either.

Tomorrow was a different day. The motel room went nearly dead silent, a complete turn around from their weeks of raucous partying and constant blabbering (mostly from Alfred's end). Alfred blinked at the light spilling from behind his back, and it casted weird shapes into the corners of the room that were kind of spooky. Thankfully, Arthur wound a thin arm over his stomach and sighed against his back, making everything right again.

"Hey, Artie?"

Arthur grunted.

"Hey."

A little sharper, "What?"

Alfred grinned, "I really like it when you spoon me."

A moment of silence. Then, Arthur scoffed and turned over to his other side. "Mood killer."

"What?! Hey! Come back here and spoon me!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Many spoons, indeed. No, seriously, that morning, Alfred thought he woke up alone, almost ready to freak out, but Arthur popped up with huge bags of somethings. Apparently, he took a 'quick' detour a few miles over and bought a smorgasbord of breakfast and practically poured it all on Alfred's lap.

Arthur didn't take much; a piece of fruity bread here, some doughnut balls there - he was much more interested in wounding his arms around Alfred's shoulders and stroking his face or running nimble fingers through his hair. That alone felt like a gift from Heaven as Alfred eagerly tore into his offering. Well, technically it was a gift from Heaven, but...anyway! No king in the world would ever be as spoiled as this guy was.

Although, Alfred must have been making out too much with his breakfast rather than someone else, as Arthur slipped from the bed with a big sigh. Alfred just let him go around the place, muttering about stuff. Sometimes, it was best to smile and nod. Unless the angel stopped and stuck his hands on his waist, that meant he expected a coherent answer.

He did just that.

Alfred slowed down from chewing on his cud, "What?"

"We will need to wash up first."

"All right."

"Ahem."

"What?!" Why would Arthur get him all this stuff if he was going to not let him eat it?

"Not too long, Alfred." With a sassy flick of his wings, Arthur ducked into the bathroom.

Wait.

Alfred shoved all these pastries, tarts and treats back into their bags, so they wouldn't get on the bed and bite him in the behind later on, and almost fell flat on his face as the blankets tangled his legs, desperate to not let go. He yanked away, ditching them and his clothes on the floor with only seconds on the clock to get everything off and hop into the shower.

Arthur seemed surprised as a sudden and noisy intrusion tripped over the side of the bathtub. Alfred propped himself against the wall with an elbow and winked and nodded, like that totally just did not happen, but Artie was pleased either way. At least, until Alfred started messing with the shower knobs to get cold water off his back.

"And why are you touching my shite? I had that at a reasonable temperature, thank you."

"Ha! You call this reasonable? Maybe for an ice cube, but I'm going to freeze my ass off!"

"Oh, stop." An equally cold hand suddenly groped that said ass, and Alfred jumped and swatted it away until somewhat warm water ran over their heads. "A bit of cold water won't kill you. Your arse is fine." Those hands came creeping back again, all over Alfred's waist, "Mm, more than fine..."

"Whoa, hey!" Alfred turned around and slung an arm over Arthur's shoulders to squish their wet bodies together. "If that's the case, I don't know why you freak out over a hot shower, babe, 'cause you're already going to get all hot in the first place!"

Arthur snorted, but laughed against him, totally guilty.

They jumped as shampoo bottles shook around their heads, like someone beat on the paper-thin walls. They glanced toward the ceiling and shower curtain like a pair of dummies. "Uh..." Alfred tried to whisper, "We weren't being too loud, were we?"

"No louder than that busybody next door." Arthur started petting Alfred's collar bone, and then down his chest, grumbling between kisses, "Just ignore it."

Alfred was more than happy to...until it happened again. "No, no, dude, it's for us. Someone's knocking on the door."

"No, they shouldn't be. I don't get visitors." Arthur insisted, "Just ignore it."

Louder, more punctuated. Someone was getting impatient. So were the both of them. With irritated sighs, they shambled to get out of the shower.

Alfred flapped a hand at Arthur, urging him to stay, "Nah, it's all right, I got it."

"But-"

"Chill man. I'll be out and in before you know it." Alfred snatched a towel hanging on a nearby rack, and laughed a little menacingly to himself as Arthur watched him from behind the curtain, "I'll make sure she doesn't come back."

"You better not flash any old ladies, Alfred."

"Oh, no," Alfred assured as he stepped out of the warm bathroom, "I was just going to scream really loud until she runs away."

Another knock.

"What the fuck!" Alfred unlatched the locks on the door and opened it marginally to peek out with one eye all creepy-like...

"Wha...oh, my God!" No nosy Hispanic ladies this time. "Dude!" Alfred almost didn't recognize his twin under that rugged look. He and demonic company must have just crawled out of Hell. Literally. Ha-ha. "You're totally sporting a badass beard!"

"Thanks, I totally am."

Alfred threw open the door and flapped the arm that wasn't pinning his towel around his waist. "Come here and give me a hug!" It's been over a month since he last saw his brother. And Ivan, too, he guessed.

Matthew and Ivan automatically stepped back, and the former held up his hands, yelling in disgust, "Don't hug me when you're not wearing any pants! Weird!"

Alfred shrugged and moved away from the doorway to gesture for them to come inside. "Sheesh, it's not my fault you decided to come at a bad time. Close the door behind you."

"Only I'm allowed to do that," Ivan said as he threw a hand at the door. It closed the first time, the metal bastard.

It took Alfred a moment to process this. "Ew!"

"Ugh, shush!" Matthew was kind of looking bewildered as he walked by Alfred and glanced around the room.

What was really bewildering was his brother smelling like he just got done being barbequed. "Ugh!" Alfred couldn't help a grunt of distraught, "You smell burnt, Mattie!"

Matthew clamped a hand on the back of his head and hurried toward the bed, where Ivan made himself right at home.

"I think he smells just fine," the big lug said.

"Yeah," Alfred shrugged away, hurrying to dig in Arthur's dresser for any clothes he left behind, spooked from the pair gawking like he had five nipples. He didn't, just in case anybody needed to know. "That explains a lot."

"Alfred," Arthur emerged from the bathroom. It was bad enough certain people came by to visit, but now he had a robe on? Fun times over indeed. He balked, clamping his hands over himself and skittered back into the bathroom. "Why did you not say there's guests in here, idiot?!"

"It's Mattie and Ivan."

"I've noticed!"

Alfred chucked a wad of undergarments toward the bathroom doorway. "They just came in here! Chill! And they want you to put clothes on!"

"Both of you!" Matthew said.

"Both of us?!" Alfred ducked his head as he pulled out some stuff for his bare behind and fled into the bathroom. He yanked the door shut a little too loudly, nearly tripping to get into the shower stall again, but then grinned as pale skin danced before his blurry eyes.

"God, why did you let them in? At this time, too, no less. I thought Matthew was a late-sleeper."

"I thought so, too."

Arthur snorted, passing over a bottle of body wash. Or at least Alfred hoped it was body wash. "Hurry up and scrub yourself down."

Alfred never took a shower and threw on clothes so quickly before. It ruined his whole morning. As he tugged on his shirt in a pissy manner, warmed hands cupped his cheeks from behind, and Arthur pressed a delicate but long kiss to his ear lobe.

"Trust me, love, I'm not too joyed either, but seventeen years then, and probably seventeen years more won't all be happy mornings."

Alfred flinched from the tickling sensation and giggled, "I know, but I wanted to-"

He yelped as Arthur smacked his rear before swinging open the door.

"Really, dude?" Alfred asked as they stepped out to be stared at by their guests. He scrambled for something totally different to talk about. "Hey, you guys. Uh, you won't believe it, but Arthur's been at this motel for seventeen years!"

"Wow!" Matthew said. Alfred wasn't sure he was being sarcastic or not. "Doesn't that get pricey?"

Alfred looked to Arthur picking clothes from the door, who only said, "No."

They turned to Alfred for answers, and thankfully he already asked a butt-ton of questions to get on the angel's nerves before. "Apparently, way back then, he helped the owner of this place with family trouble, and now he gets permanent residence! How cool is that?"

"Oh, yeah," definitely sarcasm this time, "really cool."

"Way too short," Ivan said. "There is no room to stretch your wings."

Alfred rolled his eyes. He had no wings to stretch, and if the damn demon behaved himself, he wouldn't need to be stretching any wings, either!

Arthur gave Ivan some stink eye, "I suppose that is something we can agree on."

Alfred threw another towel at Arthur, just to get him mad. "So, what's up? You guys need something, or just visiting?"

"Uh, yeah," Matthew's tone grew sharp, "Do you plan on coming home anytime soon or not?"

"Home?" Alfred echoed. He glanced around the motel room. Arthur settled at the dining table and shook his head.

"Home!" Matthew repeated, shaking his hands, "You know, with Dad? He won't stop crying because you didn't even take two seconds out of your day to send him a text that you're busy or on your way. If you were planning on stopping by."

"Oh, that."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, oh." Alfred couldn't hold a glaring contest with his brother. "I was going to real soon, but we were...um..."

"We were traveling," Arthur cut in. "We just got back last night. Love, I thought I told you to make sure your father knew that."

"I could have swore I did!"

"Did you make sure you typed and sent the message?"

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. "Maybe?" Hey, that corner looked real nice to wedge himself into and hide from the world. Alfred giggled as three people stared with varying degrees of 'Are you kidding' looks. "Aw, man, can you blame me? I was super distracted!"

Ivan laughed at his turmoil, "Distracted from what?"

"Traveling! Like, all over! We went everywhere, man! We didn't even need plane tickets either! Angels just go whoosh!"

"Cool," Matthew said. It wasn't cool in his eyes. "What about Dad? We both have been gone since graduation without a single 'What's up?' text. Not to mention I just missed my birthday, and yours is in like, two days. So, are you going to stop by, or what?"

"Arthur just said we just came back last night, dude. We were both tuckered out to do anything! Still kind of am..." When Matthew stacked a super glare on Alfred, he held up his hands. "I'm going to go now, okay?" He tossed a pout to Arthur, "If I have to."

"Let's go then!" Matthew didn't spare any time. "Dad's waited long enough."

Alfred darted over to the dining table to smooch Arthur all over his grumpy face. "Don't be back too late."

"Don't make you wait too long?"

"Hmph, yes." Arthur gave his chest a shove. "Watch out for cars."

Alfred scrammed, beaming at his brother rolling his eyes as he shut the door. Matthew pointed out, "You guys obviously talked about a lot of stuff."

"Oh, yeah!" Alfred laughed a little too loudly, which only freaked them out. "Sure did. We did lots of talking! We _talked _so much. We _talked_ all over Europe, and we _talked _when we got back. We were going to _talk_ in the shower, but then you-"

Matthew whipped his head side-to-side. "Ugh! Ew! All right, that's enough! I get it!" He snorted and a disgusted crinkle on his nose stayed with them down the sidewalk. "I was wondering how the other angels took it when you two shacked up. I heard that Arthur was having problems about that. That's what I meant in the first place."

"Nope! It's all good!"

"Oh...um, okay. How's everything since we got out of school?"

"It's been great, man!"

"Really."

"Yeah!" Alfred shrugged. "Really!"

"Wow."

"What?"

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Where's the juicy details?"

"Up your butt!"

"Ugh, up yours."

Ivan finally spoke up, "Actually, it's-"

"No, no!" Matthew shook a hand at him. "Don't even start. Did you take pictures when you were in Europe, Al? What'd you even do over there?"

"We ate cheese, danced to classical music and kissed under the moonlight!"

"Did you really?"

"Why not, man?"

"You freaking sap."

"Seriously?" Alfred asked. "You're calling me a sap? Have you looked in a mirror lately?"

"Shut up."

"You're a sap!"

"It's true," Ivan said. "Your family is full of saps, and you are in it, too."

"Hush up about that!"

Alfred held out his arms and belted to the Heavens, "My brother's a sap!"

Matthew shoved his back, making him stumble, "Shut up!"

Alfred caught himself and skipped forward to flee from his stare o' death, all the while hollering to anyone who listened, "My brother's a sap! My brother's a super-duper-ooper sap!" He shrieked when Matthew charged after him.

"You ass! Get back here and I'll show you who's a real sap!"


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

* * *

"Boys! Settle!" Francis warned as soon as two forces of friendly, sibling-murderous intent barreled into his kitchen. Oh, great, he here comes with arms ready to hug and watery eyes ready to bust into tears...! "My baby boy, you found him!" Alfred tried to sigh like emotions were such a hassle, but wound up smiling as their father's perfume washed over him.

"Great. Yeah, Dad." Really, the back pats? "Uh-huh, you can stop anytime."

Of course Francis didn't, grabbing Alfred's face to give him a little shake, "What were you thinking, worrying me like that? I thought you were taken away by angels!"

"Willingly!"

"Some goodbye!" Francis finally let go of his death grip to put his hands on his hips. Alfred rubbed his cheeks, getting embarrassed from Matthew snickering behind his back. "Don't tell me you don't ever touch that phone of yours! You give me a call sometime, all right? And tell those angels that I said to take good care of you! I could hear your stomach growling before you walked in the door!"

Now, Alfred had to roll his eyes. "Yes, Dad."

Francis' evil glares shifted to the doorway, where Ivan stood. The big lug couldn't hold his stare for long, either. "I make sure Matthew is well fed when he is with me."

What, with hellhound guts and a refreshing drink of molten lava? Francis didn't care. "Good. You are in the clear. _For now._"

Ivan's eyes jumped to the ceiling, and his voice came out small, "Oh, good."

"Ugh, you." Francis went in for another hug, and Alfred was the closest to him. "Are you boys staying long?"

Matthew said, "Um, at least until after Alfred's birthday."

The dummy wound up missing his own birthday! Hell must have not had calendars. Not that Alfred was paying attention to the days flying by, either. Whoops. He carefully pushed Francis away, not breaking the old man or anything, before belting out, "Guys! We should have a party!"

Francis' hands found their usual sassy perch on his hips again. "You expect me to buy a cake?"

Alfred pouted, "Can you make one? Please! We can get the batter that has confetti in it! And sprinkles! Ooh! We can't forget the ice cream!"

Francis managed to calmly suggest, "Why not an ice cream cake instead?"

Alfred gasped, almost passing out right then and there. "Write this down! Write this down!"

~.~

~BOING~

~.~

Alfred wound up going to a party anyway. Well, it was _his _and Matthew's party. Matthew decided to come out early, but instead of celebrating on separate days, it made sense money-wise to just combine the celebrations (that were supposed to be together in the first place!) into one party.

Not that would stop Matthew from using the 'I'm oldest!' excuse whenever he could.

Since this was a family event, Francis insisted everyone clean up...besides the supernatural guests the brothers brought over. They could 'wait in the living room' or 'have some leftover cake,' but they wouldn't dare lift a finger to clean up after Alfred's mess of unleashing a confetti cannon on all of them when Dad said so.

"My boy, I know Matthew has been in..." Francis gulped as Matthew looked over from washing dishes, "warmer pastures. But you! You have not told me anything!"

"Ugh!" Alfred swiped some crumbs off the counter, but that wasn't good enough as Francis smacked some paper towels in front of him. "Everyone wants to know that."

"It was me," Matthew said, rolling his eyes. "I wondered what he was up to for a whole month. Forgive me."

Alfred stuck his tongue at his back. "We went all over the place. Dad, you wouldn't believe it, but angels can do this zap-zap thing, and they zoom, like, super fast! We could be on the other side of the world within _minutes!_"

One side of Francis' mouth pulled down as he wiped the other half of the island counter. "Given recent events, I think I will believe it." He gave his head a little shake, and a smile blessed the house once more, "All over the place, huh? Did you stop near _Arles_?"

"Near what?"

"A place in France, don't you know? You two were born close there. A lot of people clamor for Paris, with good reasons, but there are plenty of other old places with beautiful monuments and beautiful people."

"Oh. Cool."

"What about Bucharest?"

"In Hungary?"

"No, my boy, that's Budapest. I mean in Romania!"

"Nah. We were in England for a while. Arthur really liked it there."

Francis tisked, "Ah, that's probably where he was raised." He thought about this for a moment. "Err...I mean, he was probably raised in Heaven, but he must have gotten that accent from somewhere!"

Alfred laughed, "Yeah, he must have! We also went to Egypt, and yes, we went to France for a bit."

Francis seemed pleased. "You ought to."

Now Matthew was sticking his tongue out at Alfred. "Was that so hard?"

"Yeah," Alfred said with a big grin.

"You ass."

"And you, my Matthew!" Francis waved a hand with grand flair, "How was...Hell?" Alfred swore he heard his voice crack for a moment there. "Is it hot?"

"It's under the Earth, Papa. Yeah, it's a bit hot. And no! I didn't get eaten by anything, before you ask."

"Disappointing."

_Wink._

~.~

~BOING!~

~.~

"Dad knew exactly what to get me. I've been waiting _forever _for that movie to come out! Well, I'd still take some gift cards or food if he didn't get me the movie, but he already bought that cake and all those snacks...anyway! Like, I don't think anything could be better."

As soon as Francis' Twenty Questions went by with several sappy goodbyes, Alfred and Arthur finally broke free of the Bonnefoy house. Arthur claimed they had places to go, people to see, which had some truth to it, but apparently, from what little he told Alfred despite all his prying, he had 'something' to do, first. "Really? Nothing at all?"

Uh oh. "Unless you have something nice for me? I mean, you never really asked what I wanted for my birthday in the first place."

"In the first place, I figured you already have everything you want."

"I-I do! I was just...I wouldn't mind if you got me something, even if it was something silly..."

Arthur pulled Alfred to a stop and stood on his toes to kiss his cheek. "I was fooling you, love. God, there's no need to creep around like that."

"Oh, so you _do _have a present?"

"Of the sorts. It's something I think you'll enjoy _immensely._"

"Really?!" Alfred was so hyped now. He glanced up and down the street. "Well, what is it?"

"Come." Arthur led him to the end of the road, into the meadow where he and Ivan duked it out, but now flowers and tall wispy grass had spread all over the place. Ooh, something romantic, Alfred bet. He grinned, giving Arthur's hand a squeeze. He was totally ready.

Arthur pointed to a seemingly random spot. "Sit down."

Well, of course! "Yeah?"

"I'll be back in a moment."

"What?"

Arthur was gone.

"Aw, man!" Alfred tossed his hands up to the sky and flopped onto his back. What a present! At least the wildflowers look pretty. Arthur had to have something somewhere and was fetching it. Alfred's feet swished side-to-side. The grass was richly green and tickled his face. The sky was blue with puffy clouds here and there.

Trees and clouds, man.

Yep.

"Alfred."

Alfred jumped from the sudden call. He eagerly propped himself on his elbows, about to ask, 'What the heck, man?' but his jaw went slack from the approaching and glowing figure.

Oh. _Oh. _Okay, the wait was totally understandable. Arthur flapped his feathery butt to his motel to get on that little poofy toga Alfred liked. What a nerd. The gold bands around his arms and ankles glinted in the sunlight, distracting Al's gaze to the large lunch pail in his clutches.

"Is that my birthday present?!"

"No, you fool. They're just sandwiches." Arthur plopped into the grass, all against him, and set the bag between their legs.

Alfred ignored it to lean closer to his face with a big grin, "Are _you _my present?"

"You can't get what you already have."

"Oh, yeah, that's true." Alfred glanced to the lunch bag. After a mini-staring contest, he couldn't hold back curiosity anymore and tore into it. Yep, like Arthur said, there were sandwiches; the only thing he could 'cook' without burning something. "Aw!"

"What?"

Alfred stuck his lower lip out. "Present?"

Arthur rolled his eyes, but then cupped Alfred's jaw to kiss his cheek. "Close your eyes."

Alfred did, wiggling side-to-side. Arthur's hand lifted to cover his eyes. "Hey! I'm not peeking!"

"Just breathe. Deeply. In and out."

What, free meditation exercises? Alfred pulled in an obnoxiously deep inhale, held it, then sighed. "Now what?"

"That's not breathing."

Alfred started to feel tingly from the low voice in his ear. "You're not breathing," he grumbled, but tried to straighten out. Arthur's palm tickled his eyelashes. Okay, something was definitely tingling. Then, something like a gust of wind, but on the inside, ran over him. "Whoa!"

Arthur removed his hand to give his chin a little squeeze. "Open your eyes now, love."

"What kind of magic stuff did you do-" Alfred jerked back with a yell to the sky, "Holy shit!"

Holy, indeed! These huge...golden glowy things peeked between the clouds. Alfred scrambled around to see more churning around iridescent structures miles over their heads spanning way into the horizon. All over the world! He jumped when delicate hands wound underneath his arms and around his chest, like the little blips of light streaming in and out of the clouds would come down and nip him.

"Your heart is pounding. Do you like what you see?"

Alfred only snorted in disbelief. "How long has that been there?"

"A while." Arthur's hand found its way to his face again, cupping his chin, and then gliding across his jaw, encouraging Al to lean against him. "How about it?"

"Wow," was all Alfred grunted out. When his eyes jumped somewhere else, sunlight bounced off the plethora of colors and made them shimmer into different patterns. He forced his tongue to work semi-coherently, "Um...is this your home?"

"Yes." The body against his back pressed closer and blond hair tickled his face, "At least, until I met you."

Alfred's cheeks started to get numb from smiling so damn much, but he couldn't help it. "Ha-ha, wow," he repeated, not in the most eloquent manner. "I _so _love you, man."

"Ah, that's good." A little grunt, and Arthur pushed his face into the crook of Alfred's shoulder. He grumbled something.

"What?" Alfred asked loudly, "What'd you say?! I didn't catch that!"

"Be quiet."

"I want to know what you just said!"

Arthur squeezed him tighter and tighter, and Alfred loved every moment of it. "I said. Be. Quiet."

"Before that!"

"I said I love you, too."

"Ha, I thought so."

"Why'd you ask then?!"

"I just wanted to hear you say it."

"You idiot."

"_You're _a idiot."

"You've made me one with you."

"Yep! Two idiots, let loose in the world. Isn't it great?"

"Oh, it's wonderful."

"Hey, Arthur?"

"Yes?"

"Could you pass me a sandwich?"

Arthur sighed like he was annoyed, but was totally smiling as he tore open the lunch pail. When Alfred reached for his beloved sandwich, Artie held it away from him. "We have lots of work set out for us, now."

"Uh-huh. Sandwich?"

Arthur relented, and Alfred tore into the poor thing before reaching in the bag for another one. "You've piqued my bosses' interest and they want to see what's so damn special about you. I have _four _new charges."

"_Four?!_ Wow!" Alfred tried to exclaim with a face full of sandwich. "Mm! This good!"

"It ought to be!" Arthur slung his arm around his shoulder with a happy little sigh. "Idiot. That's hardly a challenge for you, is it?"

Alfred giggled as he squished themselves together even more. He already had his challenge and totally owned it...or him. The colors in the sky bathed them in their insanity, and it was worth it through several lifetimes in the end.

Arthur leaned forward to stare at his face.

"What?"

"Come on, now. Any other time you're eager to shove things in your mouth. We have things to do!"

"Huh? Wow, okay!" The sandwich was gone in two seconds. Record time.

Arthur rose to his feet and held a hand out.

"Let's get to work, love."

* * *

_The End._

_No sandwiches were harmed in the creation of this story._


End file.
